The Legendarian Chronicles
by Chibi Pika
Summary: This is the outdated version of the fic. I am currently rewriting most of it.
1. Prologue: Separation

"If the Legendaries are so superior, then why do the humans speak of them as though they are nothing but pawns…pieces of a plan that must be obtained? These so-called Legendary Pokémon are in danger, that much is certain."  
-Mewtwo

The balance of power is shifting…

Welcome to LC, a six-year-old Pokéfic first posted on Pojo forums and now spread to almost all fanfiction sites. I hope you enjoy it—here are some things to keep in mind before reading:

Note #1: This fic is hard to get into. Most people leave by Chapter 2, but those who at least stick around until Chapter 6 seem to be glad they did.  
Note #2: This is a long fic. Not one of those little short things done to pass time, but a long, intricate saga of four novels, and if you do not have the patience to read or comprehend such a thing, get out now.

* * *

******Prologue: Separation**

_The time has come, the era draws nearer…  
Every day the balance grows more unstable…how long until it falls?  
Our actions tip the scale…how long until the past is destroyed?  
The Revolution is coming…_

A pair of eyes snapped open suddenly, radiating with an eerie cobalt aura and illuminating the inky blackness within the depths of the sea. The true blessing of light had never reached the utter darkness of the ocean floor, and even the rare glow of life could not betray its concealment. The creature to which the eyes belonged knew this better than any other. The deep was always dark and always would be…the deep was always calm, not like the surface…the deep could always hide those who wished to be hidden…

The ancient creature had spent much time within the cradle of its dominion. Its sleek, draconic form sliced through the water with power and speed, never hindered by the great mass of water. Thoughts raced like lightning, always coming back to the same thing, the same reason why it confined itself there. The words of the other Legendary Pokémon constantly echoed within its mind. The time…it had been spoken of nearly a millennium before…

The story was well known amongst the Order of Legends, though after eons of being passed on, retelling after retelling, it was now more myth than truth. Such thoughts had been the creature's sole focus; the legend told of a time when Pokémon and human had lived divided, yet peaceably. Although humans were meant to rule earth, Pokémon were to live alongside them. Many Pokémon resembled the simple dumb beasts of the land, but humans respected that they were sentient, and therefore capable of understanding.

Nonetheless, conflict eventually tore the land apart. The balance between human and Pokémon went up in flames, fueled by the instability of the Order of Legends. Both were to blame, really, but the Pokémon would ultimately pay the price. Their race decimated and civilization destroyed, they would live as though animals. Eventually, the humans claimed the land as their own: the four regions of Johto, Kanto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh.

The creature sighed as it streaked up from the ocean trench like a silver torpedo, the water slowly growing lighter as it rushed for the surface. Remembering the secrets of the past only brought further urgency upon the present. So many myths had been built upon that time, and so much was lost after the war that the legends of the land had nearly died. Yet there was still one more to dominate the four regions, and that was what the creature focused upon.

Pushing all thoughts from its mind, the beast rocketed out of the water and into the cool, salty air. It flapped its mighty wings once and took off into the sky, sailing effortlessly along the streaks of silver clouds that dotted the otherwise cerulean skies. It had been so long since it had last experienced the simple joys of flight. The dragon-bird scanned the ground below with intense brown eyes like that of a hawk, searching intently for the right area. With another wave of its wings, water droplets were drawn around it, forming billowy white clouds around the creature's body to prevent it from being seen. Fluffy white crystals of snow flecked its sleek, glossy feathers as it came to perch on a fairly low mountain just on the boundary of Johto and Kanto.

At the foot of the eastern side of the mountain was Viridian City—nestled in between dense woods and high hills, its roads and homes bustling with the afternoon rush. The white dragon-bird focused on a slightly less populated area on the edge of the city past the central buildings.

_The legends shall reawaken on the eve of the second millennium after the war. And from there shall dawn the new era, with the schism rekindled and the fires of war ignited, only to be smothered by a wave of revolution…_

There was not much time—only six and a half years remained. The initiation had begun years ago, but now…now the search would be set into motion. The pact was inevitable, and only time would tell which ones would intervene in the legendary affairs. Eight humans, eight members of the Order…was it possible? The creature gazed at the city deeply, having many vague feelings about it. For now, at least, events would have to run their course…

* * *

Simultaneously in central Viridian…

I burst through the doors into the main office of the school, gasping for breath and clutching my sandy lunchbox in my arms. Why, why, why did I have to leave it on the playground? Was I late for the bus? With a quick glance at the large white clock that hung on the wall, I saw that it was 3:01, but how could that be right? My watch was ahead—that had to be it. That meant I had time to talk with my friends before going home. I spotted my friend Ajia and sprinted down the hallway toward her.

She was a year older than me, but shorter, and with medium-length dark brown hair that was nearly black and dark brown eyes as well. She was wearing a black shirt with several cartoon characters on it and shiny silver pants.

"Hi, Ajia!" I said, walking over and sitting on the bench next to her. "Have you seen Starr?" I asked enthusiastically.

"No, why?" she replied.

"I dunno, I guess I wanna say 'bye before tomorrow…" I said, my voice trailing off as I glanced along the hallway. I figured I'd rather not risk being late. "I'd better get on the bus now. I'll see you on Monday!" I yelled. I got up and ran out the main doors.

"Bye," Ajia said brightly, walking through another exit that led to the street she walked along to get home.

Outside, the single bus was parked on the pavement, its engine roaring loudly as it idly sat unmoving in the parking lot. It was a private school, so not many people rode the bus. I bounded up the three stairs and into the long path with large seats on either side, making my way around legs that stuck out into the walkway and other kids shoving each other out of the seats. I found Starr near the back and sat down next to her.

"Hey, Jade," she said, glancing up slightly when she saw me. Her short brown hair fell across her face with her leaning forward, apparently an attempt to avoid eye contact. She was also shorter than I was, but only by a little even though she was two and a half years older than me. She wore a shirt of deep violet and a rough jean skirt that barely reached her knees.

As for me, I was tall, and had long blonde hair with light blue eyes. I usually dressed like what the others called a tomboy, mainly because while most of the other girls were into dolls, I liked dinosaurs. Sometimes the other fourth graders made fun of me, though.

I sat there in silence alongside her. The full effect of what was to happen in a few days hit me and I said slowly, "So, this is your last day at school here, right?"

Starr slowly nodded, not really looking up.

"Where're you moving to?" I asked slowly. I sensed her reluctance to talk about it and almost didn't want to know.

With a blank, almost emotionless voice, she replied, "Cianwood."

I sighed as it occurred to me that I didn't even know where Cianwood was even supposed to be. The bus jerked lightly and started moving forward, shaking up and down with each speed bump in the parking lot, and we sat there silently for several minutes.

"It's not fair!" I suddenly exclaimed, unable to contain my thoughts. I glanced around, afraid I had brought attention upon myself, but my rant had gone unnoticed to everyone else with all the fighting and yelling going on around us. I turned back and continued. "You only just moved here a month ago. And moving on your birthday? What's up with that?"

"I don't know…it's all my mom's idea. But my dad's staying here in Viridian," Starr said gloomily.

I had a sudden idea and asked, "Did they get divorced or something?" It always seemed like most of the people I knew had divorced parents.

"I'm not sure. My mom keeps saying that she wants me and my brother to have a better life that we couldn't have gotten here, or something like that and never really explains. But I don't wanna go, and I know Lexx doesn't either," she said, referring to her younger brother who was about Ajia's age.

"So…since you'll be in Johto for your twelfth birthday, which Pokémon are you gonna get?" I asked, since Starr had passed the Pokémon Handling exam at the end of second quarter in school.

"Probably Totodile. I really like Water Pokémon a lot," she said, smiling for once.

"Cool," I said, and then realized something. My expression brightened as I said excitedly, "Hey, if you're gonna be a Pokémon Trainer that means you can travel anywhere you want. Right? So then you can come visit!"

I was glad and there was no other word for it. I had figured out a way around possibly never seeing Starr again.

"Okay, I hadn't thought of that. It'll have to be in a while when I get strong Pokémon to protect me while traveling so far, but I will." Starr paused, as though in deep contemplation. She looked as though she wanted to tell me something else, but then decided against it and remained silent.

The ride continued monotonously like that for what seemed like forever, until finally, it stopped. I shot a glance out the window and saw that we were at Starr's neighborhood, which was only about two miles away from mine. The time had gone by so fast. I moved to allow her to get past me as she grabbed her backpack and strode toward the front of the bus, turning back and mouthing the word "bye." I sighed. Why? Why'd Starr have to move? I still wasn't really sure. But somehow I knew it would be a long time until we saw each other again.

* * *

Claimer: There's going to claimers after a lot of chapters. Although it is pointless to continually add that I own my plotline and characters, there are a lot of fakemon and concepts of my creation that are mine.

I coined the term "Order of the Legends" but since it's very unlikely that others haven't used it, I can't rightfully say I own it. I own the history of the humans and Pokémon however vague it may be (when more details are revealed, I own those too). I also own the legend and even though no details about the revolution are present, I own it too.


	2. Death on the Mountainside

**Chapter 1: Death on the Mountainside**

Nov. 11, 2023 1:30 PM (Nearly five years later)

It was one of those days where you know it should be cold and yet it isn't. The sun lay suspended in the midst of the azure skies, seemingly higher than usual and shining its warmth across the cloudless atmosphere. Hundreds of birds soared in the sky and there was only a slight breeze that carried fragments of orange and yellow leaves throughout the late autumn air. Despite this, the wind seemed to be rushing in my face, blowing my medium length dirty-blonde hair back as I flew down the hill, the downward rush increasing my speed.

I was much taller and older now—just under 5'8" but feeling as though I was six feet tall as I stood on my bike pedals and let momentum do the work. My shorter, darker hair blew with the rush, and the wind streamed through the sleeves and legs of my clothes, which were not only several sizes too big, but also from the guy's section. The fierce dragon illustration emblazoned upon my shirt ruffled with the air and represented how my liking of dinosaurs had evolved into an obsession for dragons over the years. And with new likings came new hobbies.

My friend Rudy and I considered ourselves bikers—not the trick kind, mind you, but we loved to have fun at the ramp and the half-pipe. We often got together after school and on weekends to hang out and improve our limited skills.

I tightly gripped the handlebars of my bike as the ground evened out into the familiar streets of the suburbs, my goal right ahead of me. There was a slight twinge of fear in the back of my mind, but I easily overlooked it with excitement building in me. I pulled up on the handlebars at the right moment as the front wheel thudded against the start of the ramp.

"Woo! Yeah!" I yelled, raising one fist towards the sky in victory as my bike seemingly flew through the air; it was incredible. Though I was only in the air for a few seconds, it seemed to take forever and I grinned at the exhilaration. I landed several feet away with a thump and gradually veered my handlebars to double back in a wide arc, turning to look at the top of the short hill.

"Nice air, Jade! Let's see how I do!" Rudy yelled to me while speeding downward on his bike. He was about twelve years of age, short, and with dark brown hair that was nearly black and slightly spiked. His skin was tanner than mine and his eyes were dark brown and full of confidence as he raced downward. He was a risk-taker, someone who would take chances with hopes of fun, which often got us into trouble. Still, he was friendly, somewhat outgoing and definitely not boring to be around.

I sluggishly pedaled upward, still watching him race toward the ramp.

Which was why I never saw it coming.

A black blur raced out from the side of the street and skidded to a halt right in front of me. I swerved to avoid hitting it, but was then heading straight for a silver car parked on the side of the street.

"Gah!" I yelled, jerking my handlebars to the right. With a thud, I spun too far while going up the curb and toppled over, crashing with my bike in a sprawled heap on the freshly cut grass, staring upward into the cobalt expanse that stretched over the landscape.

Suddenly I felt heavy paws on my chest. Black fur seemingly filled my entire field of vision, and the air was filled with musty, hot breath and uneven panting.

"Ow…get _off_, Ebony!" I yelled, shoving the dog-like creature off of me. She lumbered off, but sat down less than two feet from me, apparently fighting the urge to jump on me again.

Which was the way it went when I was around her. She, of course, knew me, but still felt an odd instinctual sense of needing to "protect" her territory and owner—who was now standing next to his bike, cracking up.

"Shut up, Rudy," I muttered, climbing to my feet and attempting to realign my handlebars—which unfortunately would end up requiring tools. I sighed and glanced back at the young dog Pokémon, who was still wagging her short, stubby tail with the apparent hope that she could play with us. "So how'd Ebony get out this time?"

"Dunno," Rudy said, shrugging. "I guess I didn't close the dog run up good enough. At least Chloe didn't get away." He grabbed Ebony's collar and led her toward his backyard. The Houndour followed without struggle, although her reluctance showed with how slowly she dragged her jet-black paws.

"Oh, and I forgot to tell you…I get to take Ebony with me when I leave," Rudy said as though I already knew what he was talking about.

"Huh?" I said, puzzled. "What do you…wait. You're going on a Pokémon Journey? Now?!"

"Yeah, didn't I tell you?" he asked.

"No. You didn't," I said flatly, rather annoyed at the sudden divulge of unpleasant information.

"Oh…well I am. You know that this year I started taking the Pokémon Handling class in school like you have. Well my parents let me apply to take the end-of-the-quarter exam."

"Why now?" I asked. "Your twelfth birthday was in April."

"It's cause I had to take my third year of classes in sixth grade, so this year was my first chance to take the Pokémon Handling class and first quarter just ended a week ago," he explained.

I sighed, as I knew altogether too well how the class credits worked. To become a Pokémon Trainer you had to have passed at least three years of semester-long Pokémon courses to show a competent knowledge of Pokémon before taking the Handling class. At the end of each quarter, as long as your twelfth birthday had passed, you could qualify to take an exam. If you passed, it allowed you to become a licensed Pokémon Trainer.

Seeing as I was in ninth grade, I'd had lots of time to take most of the classes, including Battling and Strategy, Pokémon Biology, numerous Pokéspeech courses, Pokémon Evolution, Pokémon League Law, and finally this year, the Handling class. They were a nice break from Math, History, and all the other boring core classes, but with every extra course I took, I was only further reminded of how the rest of my friends had finished their classes and left to travel with their Pokémon years ago.

"It's not fair," I muttered. "I've been taking practically all of the Pokémon electives ever since forever. But did my parents let me take the test before? No, it was always something like, 'you need to finish your middle school education,' but now I'm in ninth grade and I'm practically fourteen and I'm only just now getting a license!" I ranted.

"Wait, so you just now passed the test?" Rudy asked eagerly.

"Yeah, I only missed, like six questions, but even once I get my license, I'll never be allowed to go traveling on a Pokémon Journey," I mumbled, sighing. The main reason I was upset was that everyone else I knew had left to train and now Rudy, one of my best and only friends was leaving too. There was another reason as well, but I shook it from my mind quickly.

"So…what Pokémon are you gonna get if you passed?" I questioned, trying to change the subject. "You know the Pokémon League always makes you choose one even if you have a pet Pokémon to take with you."

"What do you mean 'if'? Of course I passed and you _know_ I wouldn't pick anything other than Charmander!"

"Of course," I said, rolling my eyes. Rudy always was a bit of a pyromaniac. When we weren't biking, we'd go out into an empty dirt area lighting fireworks, but Rudy would always end up doing something else, like playing a game that I called "what-will-happen-if-I-light-this-on-fire?" I knew from pictures that Charmander was a small, lizard-like Pokémon with a flame at the end of its tail.

Rudy led Ebony along a rock path and past his pool to a fenced off area of his backyard. He stepped onto the grass and over to the dog run where he opened a gate and let her in with Chloe, another puppy Pokémon of his. Chloe wagged her fluffy, cream-colored tail and rubbed her orange furred nose against the bars, but to no avail. The Growlithe then blinked her large, intelligent eyes at us in wonder before deciding to roughhouse with Ebony. Rudy glanced around the backyard and clapped a hard to his forehead.

"Oh crud! I forgot to do my chores—my dad's gonna kill me!" he exclaimed frantically/

"I could help," I said, shrugging.

"Nah, I wasn't even supposed to be playing in the first place. Help me get the ramp in and then I gotta get to work."

I groaned mentally as we ran back to the front yard, grabbed opposite ends of the ramp, and carried it to his garage, setting it in a corner next to the large piles of boxes that inhabited most of the space. He wheeled his bike in and slammed the garage shut.

"I'll see ya, Jade," Rudy said, running to the backyard.

"Later," I said, swinging a leg over my bike and riding across the street to my house. Rudy wouldn't be done for a while so I figured that I could hang out in town for a little bit. I left my bike in the driveway and sprinted through the open garage, through a door, into the living room, and upstairs to my room. I glanced quickly around my small room and grabbed my backpack from the side of the bed in the corner. I snatched my wallet up from my deck and stuffed it in my pocket, hooking the chain onto my belt loop as I raced back down the carpeted stairs.

I quickly scribbled a note to my mom on the first piece of scrap paper I could find and was about to head outside when a fluttering noise in the corner by the window made me stop. I glanced over to see a small bird Pokémon flapping his wings from atop a wooden perch. His feathers were mostly a dusty tan color except for the longer feathers on his head and tail, which were brown. He chirped occasionally, not saying anything in particular, but hoping to get my attention in the smallest way possible.

"Alright, alright, Swift. You know you can come with me whenever I go for a ride," I said, grinning and holding out my arm as the bird flew over to perch on my shoulder. I knew how boring it had to be staying inside all the time, as it was much harder for Pokémon to deal with that sort of thing than animals.

"Rrrrrr," the Pidgey cooed as I walked outside and mounted my bike once again. Swift took flight and soared in the sky above me, occasionally chirping in contentment.

I sped down the familiar streets of Viridian City, glancing around at the numerous buildings and gas stations of the city. I didn't intend to buy anything, but mostly I enjoyed the free time and being able to ride around aimlessly. I glanced up at the sky, taking my hands off the handlebars occasionally and not paying attention to anything in particular.

"Hey, watch it!" someone yelled.

I looked upward to see that there was someone walking on the sidewalk right in front of me. I reached frantically for the handlebars and clutched the brakes. He stepped aside as I slowly rode past him. I backed up and turned to see him clearly. He was a lot taller than I was, though probably not much older than fifteen. His hair was short, slightly wavy, and a light brown color while his eyes were an icy dark blue. He was dressed in a black shirt with a gray jacket and dull blue cargo pants.

"Sorry," I said, slightly embarrassed that I had almost ridden into someone.

"It's fine," he said.

After a few seconds of awkward silence I asked, "Hey, are you a Pokémon Trainer?"

"Well, I'd have to be if I wanted to carry these around," he said, pointing to the small red and white spheres in the black holders on his pants. It was illegal to carry Poké Balls if you weren't a licensed trainer. "Are you a trainer?" he asked. "You look old enough to be."

"Um, no, not yet," I admitted.

"Oh…alright then…" he said walking off.

I looked up again. The sky was bright blue and cloudless, but Swift was nowhere in sight.

"Swift!" I called out to him, pedaling hard to power my bike along the sidewalks. Where had he gone? He had never done this before. I headed toward the park and glanced along the fields and in the numerous pine trees, but to no avail.

"This is weird…" I muttered to myself. "Where the heck did he go?"

Almost as if on cue, Swift flew over a house and soared toward me. He kept gesturing to the left with his wings, as though trying to tell me something.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Just follow me!" he said finally in his own language. Understanding Pokémon was fairly easy after all the Pokéspeech classes I had taken, and I rode underneath him, struggling to keep up. Occasionally he would glance back to make sure I was still following him before leading me down another side street. Finally, I saw what Swift was so excited about…

We were at the very edge of Viridian City, just at the boundary between forest and city. In the distance to the west was where I saw it. Everything was gone. Destroyed. The forests on the border between Johto and Kanto had been ravaged, leaving nothing but charred ground and a continuous stream of smoke that billowed upward into the clouds blown in from the north. The sickening stench of burning flesh greeted me, and I held an arm over my nose as I continued forward. I rode down the hill and through the Western Viridian Forest before entering the midst of the death zone, struggling to look away from the dead bodies of beasts that littered the now barren wilderness. I had been out here before, but the forests I knew were gone, and likewise, the animals and Pokémon.

"What…what happened here…?" I said, gasping in awe.

Swift swooped down to land on my shoulder, gripping it lightly with his talons as I parked my bike against a tree and proceeded to look for any signs of life. My sneakers kicked up ashes as I walked, and I finally gave up checking if any of the wild creatures were still alive after a while. Every now and then I could identify a pile of ash that had once been something living, and all the creatures that weren't totally disintegrated were charred black and deathly still.

Finally, there came a sign of movement near a pile of burnt leaves that still had the remnants of flame burning at its edge. I shifted the ashes and found a small creature underneath.

It was still breathing.

It was a Charmander, though I was only barely able to tell. Its normally glossy orange scales were burnt black, and with each breath, its lizard-like body shuddered, as though it was cold despite the fact that its body was filled with warmth. When it slowly opened its eyes, they were a dull gray color rather than the large, bright blue, curiosity-filled eyes that were normally characteristic with Charmander. The scarlet and flaming-orange colored ember that normally burned on its tail was little more than a tiny flare that flickered constantly.

I wanted to clean its burns with some water I had in my backpack, but I knew that for a creature of fire, that would only make things worse. I pulled the burnt remains away from it and slowly wiped the soot off of the lizard, taking care not to injure its blistered skin any further.

"Awful, isn't it…" a voice behind me said.

"Huh?" I said, turning. "You again?" It was the same guy I had almost run into earlier on my bike. I glanced up at him, for I was kneeling, and therefore he seemed even taller than before.

"Yeah," he said, turning to gaze upon at the ravaged landscape. "I was flying on one of my Pokémon and no one could possibly miss this from the air. Do you know what happened here?"

"No," I said, a bit confused.

"Oh, well, I do…amazing how much damage humans can cause."

"What?" I asked suddenly, picking up the Charmander and standing to my feet. "Who did this, do you know—?"

"Instead of telling you, how about I show you…" he said, walking further in the direction I had been going.

I walked quickly to catch up. "How recently did this happen?"

"So recently that it's still happening," was the only response. We reached the edge of a peak that overlooked an open valley between the forested hills. It was there that I saw what he was talking about.

I was amazed at how one scene could depict such sadness, cruelty, awe, and power at the same time. The most noticeable, was the Pokémon of fire, a powerful and upstanding beast with the body of a lion and powerful muscles rivaled only by the strongest of all Fighting Pokémon. Its thick, blue paws struck the ground as it ran, the billowy, silk-like fur along its back ruffling with the beast's incredible speed. Flame burst forth from its coarse brown fur, and its face was covered with brightly colored crests of yellow atop its head, red on its face, and blue along the muzzle. With each roar, it gave off an air of torment as it incinerated the surrounding area, but I could tell from the pain in its cry that this massacre was unintentional. Entei, it was called—the Beast of the Volcano, a Legendary Pokémon of living flame.

I was so awed by the legendary beast that I almost overlooked the people near it. Over fifty adults armed with powerful Pokémon or guns were pursuing Entei in jeeps surrounded by protective force fields. The giant beast constantly let loose immense blasts of fire at them, but its assaults were blocked by both the shields and powerful jets of water from the trainers' Pokémon. Despite a blazing ring of fire that surrounded and protected it, the Entei was repeatedly struck by bullets from its pursuers.

"What—? Why…" I said, gasping. "They're poachers aren't they?"

"Not exactly," he said, turning to look upon the onslaught. "Have you ever heard of Team Rocket? You should, living in a big city like Viridian."

I thought back. Faint memories of the news surfaced at the back of my mind, yet they were obscured by time and the fact that I didn't really pay attention to such things when I was young. "Um, a little," I said.

"Yeah, I figured. It started out as a sort of widespread group of criminal gangsters. Then this millionaire guy came along and used their idea to create a huge underground organization. He recruited hundreds of members from all over Johto, Kanto, and even a few from way out in Hoenn and Sinnoh. A long time ago you probably heard about all kinds of raids on cities, mass Pokémon deaths, and other stuff. All of their recent operations are almost completely unknown to all, though."

"How do you know then?" I asked.

"I figured you'd ask that," he said, grinning. "I'm actually on the Johto Force of Team Rocket. High ranking, too, so I know pretty much everything about it and everyone on it. Plus I can do what I want and Giovanni doesn't even know that I'm really against him."

"Giovanni?" I asked. That was a surprise to me.

"Yeah, he's the founder and leader of it all. You've probably heard of—"

"Of course I've heard of him!" I interrupted. "How could I _not_ know about the leader of the Viridian Pokémon Gym?"

He shrugged. "I should have figured that…"

I looked back at the blazing hillside. "Shouldn't we do something?" I asked. "I mean, if we don't—"

"We?" he said, laughing slightly. "You have a pet bird and a half-dead lizard, so it'd be me doing everything. And I know my limits. The dragons I train may be powerful, but they're not fast enough to dodge repeated fire from the Rockets. They'd be shot down before getting within twenty feet of the battle."

"Oh…" I said, my voice trailing off in slight disappointment.

"If you're that determined, then I'll tell you this: with agents all over Johto and Kanto, if Team Rocket really wanted to execute a massive takeover, it'd be altogether too easy."

I turned to him in surprise. "What?"

"The only reason they haven't already is because they're building up forces in case any trainers rebelled against them. That's why they've taken to capturing Legendary Pokémon. If Team Rocket managed to create forces led by members with Legendaries, it'd be all over," he explained matter-of-factly, as though Team Rocket being on the verge of world conquest was normal, everyday conversation.

"Then, what do we do about that?" I asked, confused as to why he was telling me this.

"I've been giving these out to a lot of people," he said, handing me a small card. "It pretty much explains everything. If you become a trainer, but don't really want to go around battling in Pokémon Gyms, then let me know."

"But how—?" I began.

"The card explains everything," he said again. "But don't tell anyone else about it."

He pulled out a red and white sphere and pushed a button on it, causing it to enlarge and open. In an instant, a flash of white light burst forth from inside it and began to take the form of a huge dragon, upright and majestic. Its skin was rough, yet a shiny flaming orange color, and it had huge, powerful blue wings with its main characteristic being the flame that burned brightly at the tip of its tail. It was a Charizard, the fully mature form of Charmander.

He replaced the Poké Ball and climbed up onto the dragon's back. It flexed its wings and outstretched them, flapping against the air and sending rushes of wind into my face. I held my hair against my head and watched as the reptile ascended into the sky.

"I'll see ya," the trainer said, soaring out of sight.

"Uh, later," I said more to myself than him, wondering how and why I'd see him later. I looked at the small card he had given me and read.

If you have received this card, it is because you have either been recognized as either a beginning trainer with the potential for skill, or are an ambitious young trainer willing to face danger for the sake of wiping out Team Rocket. If you are serious about joining a rebellion against the Rockets, then meet in Vermilion City prior to the following date for further instruction. The cruise ship, S.S. Anne is leaving for the headquarters' location on December 7.

Talk about anonymity. Still, it made sense, just in case Team Rocket got a hold of one of the cards. I turned back to the battle that was still continuing. It was obvious what the outcome would be, and yet I still wanted to help Entei in some way despite the fact that there was nothing that I could do. I sighed and continued to watch.

It was then that they noticed me. I was standing only about a hundred yards from the Rockets and Entei. The driver of the first jeep said something to the second, which turned abruptly and began speeding up the hill toward me.

"Ohh…crap," I muttered to myself. In a flash, I jumped to my feet and took off running back toward Viridian, but was no match for the speed of the Rocket's vehicle. I sprinted though the woods, my heart pounding and my lungs aching, but the sudden burst of fear kept me running onward. I had to reach my bike—nothing was more important than that. If I managed to, then I could make it to town before they caught me and then lose them on the side streets, but it was too far away.

I wasn't gonna make it in time…

The jeep sped past me and skidded to a stop in front of me. I tried to turn and run in the other direction, but the driver threw open the door and grabbed me by the back of my shirt. I felt Swift release his hold on my shoulder as the Rocket jerked open the back door and threw me in the back of the jeep.

"Hey, what the—?!" I yelled.

"Shut the hell up if you want to live. We're not supposed to have any witnesses, but you might get off the hook if you just keep quiet," the driver muttered, climbing back into the front seat and driving off. He was older than most of the others and judging by a number of badges pinned to his vest, more experienced as well. Glancing up over the seat, I could see he was a tall, burly man with thick black hair and dark eyes surrounded by a stern and commanding face.

Outside, Swift dove forward and flapped his wings quickly to fly alongside the jeep, calling out to me. He then soared in low circles above us, not seeming to want to leave. One of the Rockets pulled out a small handgun and began shooting at Swift before the driver stopped him.

"Leave it," he said. "It's just a pigeon. Doesn't matter if it belongs to a captive."

I quickly turned to look out the back window and saw Swift flying high up in the sky. When he seemed sure that the Rockets weren't paying attention to him, he swooped low again and waved his wing at me. I could've sworn I saw him wink once before taking off to the north, toward my neighborhood.

I only just noticed that I was still holding the wounded Charmander. It was still unconscious, but also still alive. We were nearing the main streets of Viridian and I considered yelling for help, but all of the windows were up now, and each of the Rockets was armed. There was absolutely nothing I could do, and that single fact was impossible to get out of my mind.

We continued heading east until we were once again away from the city. Finally, the jeep skidded to a halt in a small area that was mostly cleared of trees. I couldn't see anything from the back window, and the Rockets in the front seats were blocking my view in front of the car. The driver got out and slammed the door.

I leaned forward to see out the back seat window and watched as he leaned over and lifted up a small hatch in the grass. Underneath were a keypad and a small screen. He pushed in a long and complicated password and closed the hatch.

"Identification confirmed. Proceed," a computerized voice stated. The ground started to sink, revealing a sort of ramp that descended into darkness. He walked back and got into the car again before driving down. As we neared the end of the tunnel, the entrance behind us closed and I could see lights far ahead in the distance. We emerged into a large, dimly lit, immense underground hangar. The driver parked the jeep in an area to the side after skidding to a halt. The Rockets got out of the car and the driver opened the back hatch, grabbing my wrist and jerking me out. I held onto the Charmander lightly with my right arm. "Remember what I said. Just shut up and don't do anything stupid," he said, leading me toward what looked like an office door. He left me outside the door and walked inside.

It was at that time that I really thought about my position. I didn't want to think about what a Team Rocket prison would be like, but would if the Rockets decided it was better to just kill me and get it over with? I leaned my ear against the door and tried to hear snatches of their conversation.

"So? How did it all go?" someone asked. His voice sounded younger than my captor's, though from his dominating tone of voice and the way the other acted slightly submissive, I assumed that he was higher ranking.

"I left the rest of the squad behind to deal with an…unwanted witness…" the driver said.

"How much did they see?"

"Enough for her to know about our plans to capture the Legendary Pokémon."

"You idiot!" the other Rocket yelled. "Did you even consider the fact that she may not have really known anything about our mission at all?! Sure, she reports some poaching of a protected Pokémon, big deal. No one would have any idea that it was us. But now she sure as hell knows too much. Honestly, Tyson, I don't even know why I—"

"Should I just kill her?" he interrupted. My heart skipped a beat when he said that.

"No…" the other sighed. I could hear the rustling of papers. "Just—"

At once, I heard the beeping of what sounded like a cell phone. Tyson answered it and, after listening for a few seconds, said something quietly and turned it off.

"Well?" the other Rocket asked impatiently.

"Shortly after I left, it seemed to the others that Entei was going to escape into the Tohjo Mountains, so they called for backup from any nearby Johto agents. Turns out, some kid was the one who threw the ball that caught Entei, only now he doesn't really want to give it up and he's waiting for instruction from the Supreme Commander of the Johto Force," Tyson reported.

"The fool…Giovanni's word isn't enough for him?" he muttered with scorn.

"Well, even though Giovanni's the boss, he really doesn't have much rule over what the Johto Force does…"

"Yes, I know…and just stick the girl on the transport jet. Let the Executives at the secondary headquarters deal with what to do with her."

I breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that, but then heard footsteps coming toward the door. I jumped back and pretended as though I hadn't been doing anything. Tyson opened the door and again took hold of my wrist and led me to another area. I followed without struggle, knowing that rebelling would only get me shot.

"Okay, I _know_ you heard what we said in there, so you know what's going on, and you better not cause any problems," he threatened menacingly.

I was then that I noticed the large, gray airplane that was in the opposite corner of the hangar. Several mechanics seemed to be making sure everything was in order, and other Rockets were loading supplies into the cargo hold. Tyson also escorted me to the cargo bay. Large boxes filled the area and more crates were being loaded in. I was thrown into a small, metal room along the side, and the door was left open. A few minutes later, another Rocket came over, jerked my backpack from me, and looked through it before shoving it back into my arms. After checking all my pockets and deciding I had no weapons or Poké Balls on me, he pulled the Charmander from my arms and chained my hands and feet to the wall.

"What about the kid's Charmander?" the Rocket called out to someone outside of the room.

"Just leave it, the thing's near death anyway," Tyson yelled back. "I don't need to deal with some lizard corpse."

The Rocket set the Charmander on the floor and shoved it towards me before closing the door.

"What should we do about the other kids?" he asked.

Other kids? I wasn't aware that others had been kidnapped as well and Tyson didn't seem to know what the Rocket meant either. "What other kids?" he questioned.

"Another prisoner we've had for a while and some other kid we caught snooping around the entrance a minute ago."

"There's only one cell, just lock 'em in a supply closet or something…" Tyson said, his voice growing distant. Several minutes later, I heard the thunk of a heavy door being closed and the steadily growing roar of engines. I could feel the speed increase and was slanted backward as the plane maneuvered uphill. I guessed that the plane was heading up the long ramp that I came in by, and I could feel when the wheels left the ground.

The time alone in the cell inevitably led to my thoughts straying toward what was going to happen to me. It was always the sort of thing that you assumed would happen to somebody else. My mind kept telling me that I was going to be killed, and no matter how many times I shoved the thought out of my head, it kept coming back.

I had to do something. I didn't plan on having my fate in the hands of some Executive Rocket. With a quick glance around the cell, I spotted a small coil of wire sticking out of a mechanism in the corner. I figured that I could manage to pick the lock if I could just reach it, but it was too far away.

"Chaaaa…" a small, high voice moaned.

I looked down and saw the Charmander at my feet finally regaining consciousness. It swayed a little before eventually standing to its feet.

"Hey, how're ya feeling?" I asked it.

It turned suddenly toward me in shock. The lizard whimpered slightly and glanced around nervously, as though wondering how it had gotten there.

"I guess this must be pretty surprising, and I don't know if you can walk yet, but could you try to hand me that coil of wire over there?" I asked although it occurred to me that while tame Pokémon could learn the language their trainer spoke in an incredibly short amount of time, the wild Charmander had probably never heard English in its life.

I was about the repeat the instructions in Pokéspeech, but then it went over, pulled up the thin loop of metal out of the machine, and placed it into my hand. I grasped a part near the end in my fingers, bent it over to make it thicker, and stuck the wire into the keyhole on a shackle.

It took me nearly ten minutes just to free my right arm. After that, I was able to reach the other shackles easier and had figured out the trick to unlocking them. Finally, I shook the last chain off of my left foot, picked up the Charmander and my backpack, and unlocked the door into the cargo bay.

I looked around in the midst of all the boxes and crates. The Rockets had said it was a transport jet, but for what? I opened the nearest and looked inside to find a large array of Technical Machines intended for teaching powerful techniques to Pokémon. I closed the crate and glanced through some others. Finally, I found one with first-aid items for Pokémon. I picked up the first thing I could find and read the label. "Guaranteed to soothe burns, frostbite, poison, rashes, cause open wounds to scab and any other damage done from battle to your Pokémon or—"

"Yeah, yeah, or your money back," I finished in my head while spraying the liquid all over the Charmander's skin. The lizard winced slightly, but soon enough, the charred flesh slowly regained its normal color, leaving only bits of scar tissue in some areas on its back. I was impressed with how well it worked, but still dug through the box. Charmander may have been healed, but it was still exhausted and completely drained of power.

Finally, I found something to fix that: an energy serum. I knew that they could make even an unconscious Pokémon awake and full of power. It had absolutely no healing power whatsoever, which was why it was good that I had already taken care of that. There was a famous battle in which a terribly wounded Pokémon was given an energy serum and sprung to its feet, fighting again, even though it was bleeding all over. It ended up dying, and the use of energy serums was banned in all Pokémon League battles.

I twisted the cap off and poured a small amount into Charmander's mouth. Almost in an instant, the tiny flare on its tail burst into full flame. It looked up at me, eyes bright blue and attentive before looking down at itself in confusion, as though wondering how it was back to normal.

Since it seemed to understand English for whatever reason, I kneeled and said, "You doing better?" It nodded.

"Okay, Charmander, I know you don't—" I stopped. I was sick of calling it "Charmander" and I was sure that it was annoyed with me as well. "What's your name?" I asked.

"Firestorm," it replied.

I nodded, although I couldn't help but snigger slightly in my mind. Most Pokémon came up with nicknames for themselves that were composed of combining several fitting words, but Firestorm sounded like it was made up by some kid trying to sound cool.

"Okay, and, uh, are you a guy or a girl?" I asked.

"I'm male," he said before running over to the other side of the cargo bay and pointing.

I walked over and saw several Pokémon that had been sedated and put in cages. A laminated piece of paper was taped heavily to the top of each cage. I chose the nearest and read.

Experimental Pokémon #009

Pikachu that was implanted with tiny amounts of Zapdos DNA as an embryo. Experiment failure. Increase in power levels, possession of unique abilities, and rebellious disposition as possible results. Discovered side effects include inability to expel power for prolonged amounts of time and unstable chemical makeup

I looked inside the cage, where the Pikachu was unconscious. Its back rose lightly with each breath and its short, stiff yellow fur quivered slightly. It was small and mouse-like but still seemed larger than normal. Its ears were long with black tips, and its tail was rigid and shaped like a jagged lightning bolt. One look at its face, and you could easily tell that it was a hybrid; it lacked the red cheeks of Pikachu, and its fur was long and pointed on the back of its head, like the feathers of the legendary bird Zapdos.

"Do you think we could free them?" Firestorm asked.

"Well, you don't need _my_ consent," I said, shrugging. Right then, Firestorm began shooting the flame out of his tail into a narrow stream like a blowtorch and melted the locks. For several minutes he worked, prying the molten metal away with his tiny claws and opening each cage one by one. He was melting the last lock when the Pikachu woke up. It shakily stood to its feet, blinked, and looked around. The second it noticed the cage was open, it bolted out of its prison, streaking up to the highest point it could reach and sending surges of electricity flying around. Lightning flew wild as it streaked out of the Pikachu's body.

"No, don't!" I yelled.

It turned to me and sent sparks flying in my direction, its eyes filled with hate. Suddenly, I heard the sound of a door opening and turned.

"Wha—what the hell?!" Tyson yelled, walking into the cargo area.

"Uhh, hey…" I said awkwardly.

He looked from the Pikachu to me and finally to the other freed Pokémon, which were still under the effects of the sedation. He then pulled out a small black sphere—some sort of modified Poké ball. The flash of light from within it took the form of a huge green praying mantis with an exoskeleton that was hard and plated like armor. Its blank, pupil-less eyes flared with mindless hatred from a somewhat reptilian green head. It flashed its impressive scythe-lined arms, seemingly cutting the very air.

"We kept all the successful experiments for ourselves. This one happens to be my personal favorite," Tyson said proudly. "Razors, attack!!!"

At once, it lifted from the ground, zooming toward us with lightning speed, the urge to kill blazing in its eyes.

* * *

Claimer: _I own the Experimental Pokémon._ Say it with me: MINE. The mutant Pikachu, his appearance and concept; Razors, his appearance and concept; and the entire setup of Rocket experiments, which is elaborated on in future chapters.

I coined the term Pokéspeech, however, since I use it all the time as if it were canon, I don't mind it being used. I do however, own the whole Pokémon Class setup. The three years of semesters, the Pokémon Handling course, the end-of-quarter test, all of it.


	3. Pikachu, We Have a Problem

**Chapter 2: Pikachu, We Have a Problem**

The Pikachu bounded off the crates, eager for a challenge, lightning coursing throughout its fur. It streaked across the steel floor like a bullet to meet its opponent. Both combatants raced around with lightning speed. Razors the Scyther repeatedly slashed with its blade arms only to find Pikachu darting out of harm's way instantly. I wondered exactly whose side the Pikachu was on.

Firestorm seemed to want to help, and probably wanted to leap into the fray, but I stopped him. He looked up at me in wonderment. I sighed. "Look…I really don't think you should get in the way of them. The Scyther's on a mad rampage and the Pikachu seems like it's two seconds away from blowing up the plane along with itself."

Firestorm looked down and nodded. I looked back to the battle and couldn't help feeling sorry for the experimental Pikachu. It was raised as a lab specimen before finally being disregarded as a failure. Maybe that was the reason why it seemed to loathe every living thing in sight.

"Scyther!" Razors yelled slicing boxes in two. In its mad rush to attack Pikachu, it was destroying everything. Pikachu bounded off of a crate just as the Scyther slashed the crate in two. Small boxes on top of smashed crates fell to the ground, shattering. A package labeled "Confiscated Poké Balls" opened, scattering the small red and white spheres across the floor. I guessed that they probably belonged to the other captives.

Suddenly and without thinking, I grabbed the Poké Balls and retreated behind one of the many mountains of supplies, ensuring that I was out of sight before I opened the balls and released the Pokémon. In a quick, bright flash of light, they emerged and it was then that I realized what a stupid idea it was. Without their trainers, the Pokémon would probably end up going on a rampage like the Pikachu. Fortunately, that wasn't the case.

Seemingly the most powerful of the group was the Typhlosion, a powerful and upright beast with sleek black and tan fur and blazing orange and yellow rings of fire burning from the flesh on its neck. Four of the others were also large and powerful and stood with the Typhlosion, separate from the other Pokémon. I gazed in admiration upon the proud and confident fighters.

One of them I easily knew to be a Pidgeot, the adult form of Pidgey. It stood nearly as tall as me, with dull dusty brown-colored plumage and long red and yellow feathers trailing off its head. Another was an immense dog-like Pokémon similar to Rudy's Growlithe. Its massive frame was heavily muscled and powerful, with dark orange fur striped with black like that of a tiger and large patches of fluffy off-white fur covering its legs, head, and tail. The third resembled a huge, blue-white seal with a horn atop its head for generating ice assaults. The last was a gray wolf Pokémon with long capes of black fur running down its back. It appeared younger than the others and had probably only just evolved into its mature form.

"Whoever owns those has probably been a trainer for a long time," I muttered to myself. Then I saw the other Pokémon: smaller, weaker ones that weren't anywhere near as cool and confident as the first group. One was a small, bipedal, bright blue scaled turtle with a thick brown shell on its back and large brown eyes; the other was a dog Pokémon with short, midnight-black fur and shackled paws. It looked incredibly familiar.

A Houndour?

Then it saw me. With a mischievous grin, it leaped up onto its hind legs and put its paws against my chest, trying to lick my face. There was no doubt about it now.

"Ebony?" I blurted suddenly. "Wha—how'd you get here? And in a Poké ball?"

With a flutter something soared down from above me and landed on my shoulder. I turned and was in for another surprise when I saw the bird perched there.

"What is going on here? Swift? Ebony?" I exclaimed, confused. And then I realized what it all meant. The box had read "Confiscated Poké Balls." Rudy was here…somehow.

Taking care not to get caught in the still continuing clash between Pikachu and Scyther, I ran over to the supply closet and saw that it was locked from the outside. I glanced over my shoulder; I still was hidden from both Tyson and the experiments. I opened the door, hoping that the Rocket had done as Tyson said and put the other captives in there.

"Whoa, what the—" someone inside said. Two guys were in the closet, one standing on the other's shoulders trying to reach something, when the first one lost his balance and fell out. One of them was Rudy; the other looked to be a year older than me and about my height with thick, dirty blonde hair. He had on a green T-shirt and baggy blue jeans.

"I knew I'd be able to get us out!" Rudy said climbing off the other one. The other guy sighed and shook his head. "What're you talking about, you didn't get us out, that girl opened the door."

"Huh…Jade!" Rudy said all of a sudden, standing up. "I was hoping you'd be here."

"What're you doing here?" I asked.

"When I finished doing my chores, my dad got home and didn't even know I did 'em late. He said he'd talked to one of my teachers and I passed the Pokémon exam. I got my license and a Pokémon and wanted to show you, but you weren't home. Then Swift flew over and kept trying to lead me into the forest. I followed him and saw several jeeps driving down an underground ramp thing. Then I got caught," he explained.

"So that's why your Pokémon were in Poké Balls. You had to recall Swift into one when you were caught, right?" He nodded. "But what's with the Squirtle?" I asked. The turtle Pokémon had walked over and stood by his leg when we were talking.

"Oh…they didn't have any Charmander at the place where you register with the Pokémon League. I had to settle for Squirtle…or else wait a few more weeks until they got some more," Rudy said. "So I guess you released all the Pokémon along with Spencer's—that's the other guy's name, by the way." I turned to see Spencer picking up the scattered Poké Balls and recalling all of his Pokémon except the Typhlosion back into their Poké Balls. He handed Rudy's Poké Balls back to him.

"Oh, Jade…here," Rudy said, recalling his Pokémon into their Poké Balls and giving me the empty one I had released Swift from. "I don't need it since this one now only works for Swift." That was the way Poké Balls worked. Once a Pokémon was captured by one, the Poké Ball would only work for that specific Pokémon. I took the ball from his hand and recalled Swift, leaving Firestorm still standing by my side.

"You got any plans on how we're supposed to get outta here?" I asked Spencer.

"Err, not really…though Typhlosion here could definitely be a big help," he replied.

We were all still in the corner by the supply closet, hidden from view by a mountain of crates. Spencer strode over to where Tyson was still battling against the experimental Pikachu. Blackened remains of boxes littered the "battlefield." I was glad we were in such a large plane—a battle would have been impossible otherwise.

"Stupid experiment," Tyson muttered. "Its heightened power made it practically impossible to defeat through speed or physical force. And I'm not allowed to kill it, so I gotta knock out the damn thing before it blasts the plane itself with one of its Thunder attacks."

The Pikachu, however, was worn out. It sparked uncontrollably and gasped for breath, struggling to stay in the fight. The Scyther was just as bad off, with huge electrical burns completely covering its body.

"Wha—how'd you get out?!" Tyson yelled suddenly, noticing Spencer and his Typhlosion.

"Err, is that a trick question?" he asked, snickering slightly.

Tyson swore furiously under his breath before pulling out two more black Poké Balls and releasing more experimental Pokémon. Bursts of black light took the shape of the modified beasts. The first one, a Rhyhorn, pawed the floor with its forelegs, its rock-armored, rhinoceros-like body tensing up as it braced itself mindlessly for any commands and lifted its oversized horn at us.

The other Pokémon stood considerably shorter, yet glared just as menacingly with its blank eyes. It outstretched its huge, blade-clawed forelegs and let the sleek black fur covering its weasel-like body stand on end, raising the pink fins on its back and head apprehensively.

"Alright, Typhlosion, let's see how tough those Pokémon really are," Spencer said. Typhlosion bellowed its battle call and charged forward into the fray.

Lightning flew wild. The Pikachu, enraged at the interruption between its clash with Razors, shot sparks wildly at Typhlosion and the Rhyhorn and Sneasel. Seizing the chance, the Scyther streaked toward it, blades flashing. In an instant, Typhlosion shot a spurt of burning flame at Razors. The Scyther stopped just short of slicing Pikachu to attempt to avoid the Flamethrower attack.

Pikachu turned and refocused its attention on Razors and finally was able to hit the Scyther with all its power. Caught in the midst of the attacks, Razors was struck by the lightning and hit by the flame, despite its incredible speed. It was caught in the incredible rush of power, unable to move as the electricity drained its energy and the fire seriously burned it.

"Scy!" it cried out pitifully before dropping to the floor, exhausted and in pain. Tyson pulled out its Poké Ball and swore again while recalling it. "Alright," Tyson said after a long time. "You beat my best Pokémon."

"That means we're in charge now," Spencer said matter-of-factly. "Tell the pilot to land this plane at one of your Rocket headquarters and let us off…and also get us pizza," he added as an afterthought.

Tyson stared irritably, but then with a slight smirk he said, "This isn't over just yet. You know by now that the early failed experiments are incredibly unstable." He nodded toward the Pikachu. "Can't even control when they use their own power once in battle. Though that just makes battle more interesting." He then retrieved a small device from his pocket and pushed several buttons on it. At once, the other sedated experiments in the cages sprung to their feet with the urge to fight. The Pikachu gained a blank look in its eyes and started to walk toward Tyson with the other Pokémon, but then jumped back, sparking again.

"Never could control that thing like the others," Tyson said. "Alright, attack!"

"This won't work, there's too many Pokémon fighting," I said to Rudy. "Sooner or later, one of their attacks is gonna miss and hit the inside of the plane." Then I realized that that wouldn't happen. The experimental Pokémon were only using their physical attacks—except the Pikachu, that is. It continued to let its electricity fly wildly throughout the battle. Although it couldn't manage its power and seemed to just discharge energy at random, it had incredible control over _where_ it sent its attacks; not one of its lightning bolts had hit the plane itself.

But it was suffering. It had let out all of its energy and couldn't generate any more power. It made one last attempt to jump over the Pokémon and blast them all, but failed. It fell to the ground and collapsed off to the side of the plane.

It was separate from the rest of the Pokémon fighting, so I ran over and picked it up. It glared up at me and attempted to create enough power to shock me, but came up with nothing but sparks.

"What're you doing?" Rudy said, walking over. "It could blast you like it did to that Scyther."

"Pikachu's out of power and, well, I think it sucks that it's just been tossed off as a failure like that. Besides, Tyson's got all his Pokémon out to get it."

At once, Pikachu stood up in my arms and yelled, "First of all, I'm a guy, not an 'it.' And my name's not Pikachu, it's Chibi."

Chibi? The name sounded kind of…small and cute: not really fitting for the personality. Ignoring the thought, I said, "Fine, you could've told me sooner."

Chibi was about to say something, but then he stopped. "Oh, you can—"

"Yes, I can understand you," I said irritably.

He stared at me for several seconds before leaping out of my arms and running away.

"Wait, come back!" I yelled, but he continued to race forward toward the front of the plane.

I hoped he knew what he was doing…cause I sure didn't know what I was doing. Spencer and Chibi were the only ones involved in the fight against Tyson's experiments. I felt really awkward just standing there and watching it with Rudy.

It was then that the plane lurched suddenly. We all were knocked off our feet when it jerked to the right and started to move in a completely different direction. The battle ceased.

Tyson yelled a sentence that seemed to be made almost entirely of cuss words before storming off to the front of the plane toward the cockpit. He threw open the door and was about to rant some more but stopped.

"Wha…what the—?!" he said.

I couldn't help it. I ran over to look inside. When I did, I had to desperately try to keep from bursting out laughing.

The pilot was knocked out on the floor, and Chibi was in his seat, tilting the control wheel in random directions and rapidly pushing as many buttons as he possibly could.

"Get outta here!" Tyson yelled.

Chibi glared at him before muttering something that sounded to me like "drop dead" and letting sparks cover his body. He had obviously charged up limited energy in the past minute. I noticed what that meant at about the same time as Tyson did.

"No, wait!" he yelled, lunging forward and slamming a button with his fist.

In charging up power while still using the controls, Chibi automatically discharged his energy into the plane. The control panel short-circuited and shot sparks everywhere.

"You stupid rat!" Tyson ranted. "You almost blew the controls with the plane on manual! We'd all be dead now if I hadn't switched to autopilot!" Chibi showed no reaction and his face seemed blank of emotion.

"Are we gonna crash?" Spencer asked a bit franticly.

"No, stupid, the engines are still fine," he said.

The second Tyson said that, I swear I knew exactly what would happen next. Chibi was raised in captivity. He knew English.

I glanced at the pilot seat. Chibi was gone.

"No, Chibi!" I yelled running out of the cockpit and toward the back of the jet, where the engines were. Chibi looked back at me with an apologetic look and drew more energy from within him than should have been possible. He then fired all of his limited remaining power in the form of a neon lightning bolt and collapsed.

Everything happened so fast. Chibi's electricity blew a hole through the back of the plane. A massive explosion blew me back toward the cockpit. In an instant, Spencer pulled out a Poké Ball to release his Dewgong, the white seal I had seen before. Its horn shone with a bright blue light as a wave of water streamed forward from its mouth. The second the flame burning from the explosion had been doused, it fired an immense glowing beam from its horn that completely sealed the gaping hole with huge, glittering ice crystals.

"Wow, that was close," I said.

"Yeah," Spencer said, turning to his Dewgong. "Nice job," he said, recalling it.

The opening may have been closed, but that didn't change the fact that the plane no longer had an engine. I sprinted over to the window in panic. We were quickly losing altitude.

"Oh, don't waste your time worrying," Tyson said, rolling his eyes and pushing a red button on the wall.

Large rockets on the wings turned on, bursting out jets of stored energy and causing the plane to even out, but we were still descending slowly.

"The power for the extra jet packs is separate from the rest of the plane. It wasn't affected by the electricity," Tyson explained.

"Is there any way we could land normally?" I asked.

"The Pikachu screwed the controls. The chances of us just happening to land at the base we were _supposed_ to would be a million to one, not to mention that we're way off course now."

"So…we're gonna crash?" I asked.

"What is it with you guys and us crashing? I've got it under control," he said. "With the controls messed up, we'd normally just go in a straight line, slowly descending until we ran out of fuel and crashed. But if I lower the power, we'll go lower. If I can time it right, I can make so that we're pretty damn close to the ground when the fuel runs out. It'll be rough, but I think it'll work."

I didn't ask how long it would take. Tyson seemed really ticked at the whole situation. Probably the only reason he didn't just kill us outright was because he wasn't supposed to be the one to deal with us. For what seemed like hours but was probably only slightly less than one hour, Spencer and Rudy talked a bit, and I stared out the window in silence while Tyson handled the Rockets on the wings.

I looked over and noticed that Chibi was still unconscious at the back of the plane. I walked over, picked him up, and sat on a crate, holding him. Firestorm walked over and sat next to me. I had almost forgotten about him.

In an instant, the plane jerked up and shook violently. We were thrown to the floor and were once again caught under the falling crates and boxes, which, fortunately for us, were completely emptied by now, but I was covered in all sorts of loose items. Tyson pounded the button that he had pushed before and the jetpacks shut off. He struggled to make his way to the cockpit. Several seconds afterward, the plane slowed to a jerky stop. After sifting though the supplies, I looked out the window and saw that we were surrounded by the forest and in a clearing of grass at the base of an immense towering mountain.

Rudy crawled out from under a mound of boxes. "Man, why didn't ya warn us?!" he asked, irritated.

"What, you think I care?" came Tyson's response.

"Well, could you at least tell us where we are?" Spencer questioned.

"Most likely near Mt. Moon," he answered.

"And where were we 'supposed to' land?"

"What's it to you, you'll be there soon anyway," Tyson said, as though this was obvious.

"What?" I asked, turning from the window.

"Jeez, you all are more stupid than I thought. You honestly didn't anticipate reinforcements?" he asked, grinning at the anger and confusion in our faces.

"But, when Chibi sabotaged the controls, that should've killed the radios," I said.

"Who needs radios? All Rockets have a private communicator issued to them," he said. "And why do you keep calling it Chibi? What, you wanna make it a pet or somethin'?"

I wasn't sure how to respond to that. Rudy whispered in my ear, "There's three of us, think we all can take him down?"

I groaned. "Rudy, no offence, but you're barely even five feet tall, and I doubt either of us knows how to fight. And Pokémon-wise, it'd be Spencer doing all the work. We don't even at least have the advantage of having Chibi in the fight against Tyson's experiments."

Spencer walked over and sat down next to us like Rudy had. "I think we should run for it," he said. "Your Charmander could melt the ice at the back of the plane."

"Hey, what are you all whispering about!" Tyson yelled all of sudden.

Spencer leaned closer. "Think we should?" I turned to Rudy. We both nodded at the same time.

Rudy and I took off running in an instant. Spencer pulled out his Poké Ball and released his Typhlosion. The large flame beast roared and stood between Tyson and us.

"I knew it!" he yelled, pulling out his black Poké Balls again to release the experimental Pokémon. "You aren't escaping so easily!"

"Escape? Who's trying to escape? No one would try anything like that with us here!" Spencer exclaimed, snickering slightly.

I turned back to what I was supposed to be doing and ignored Spencer's diversion. "Alright, Firestorm," I said. "Couldja help us break through this ice?" I asked, gesturing toward the huge crystals. He nodded and inhaled deeply, exhaling out a long, narrow stream of orange flame that burst through the ice. The flame was small, though, so he had to do it several times to make a hole big enough for us to get through.

"Alright, that's good, c'mon, Spencer!" I yelled.

We all ran toward the opening while Spencer's Typhlosion stayed back to fend off the experiments. I jumped out through the hole and landed on the twisted remains of the jet's engine. From there, I jumped to the ground and although I landed on my feet, it still hurt from being fairly high. Rudy and Spencer jumped out after me, followed finally by the Typhlosion. Several seconds later, the ice shattered into millions of tiny shards as the experimental Rhyhorn burst through to land on the ground behind us, its thick, rock-hard hide absorbing the impact. As it pawed the ground and lifted its horn at us, it looked even more like a rhino than before.

"We'll help your Typhlosion so your other Pokémon can save their energy for the 'reinforcements,'" I said before nodding to Rudy. We had just pulled out our Poké Balls to release Swift, Ebony, and Squirtle, but I then noticed that the battle seemed to be going nowhere. Tyson hadn't signaled his Pokémon to attack and was looking out in the distance. "Right on time," he mumbled.

"What…?" I said, turning to see several vehicles far off in the distance. "Wha—how'd they get here so fast?! We only crash landed like, five minutes ago!"

"I actually figured out that we'd crash near here when I was handling the wing rockets. I told the others in advance when I called them," Tyson explained, grinning.

"Ugh, this day just gets more insane by the minute!" Rudy exclaimed before we took off running. We soon realized, of course, that that wouldn't do any good. The Rockets would catch us anyway.

"Well, you think this would be a good time to go ahead and release all my Pokémon?" Spencer asked with a touch of sarcasm as he pulled out his Poké Balls.

I laughed slightly and simply responded, "Yeah, I'd think so," as he released the remainder of his Pokémon in a flash of white light. By now, we could see the jeeps that were rapidly getting closer. Spencer's Pokémon shifted nervously.

And then I felt the movement in my arms.

I looked down and saw Chibi struggling to stand and jump away, but this time he was truly out of energy.

"No, you gotta save your strength," I said to him. He looked up at me and attempted to create electricity, but failed. He lay back in my arms, swearing under his breath.

The jeeps pulled up and skidded to a stop, throwing dust into the air. Tyson jumped down from the plane and walked over with his Pokémon. He glanced at the Rockets in the jeeps before finally finding one that he wanted to talk to. I couldn't really see the Rocket from the distance and angle I was at, but I could hear snatches of conversation.

"You know, Tyson, when you said the transport jet was gonna crash I never guessed it'd be 'cause of a couple kids that you were supposed to be bringing to me." The voice was that of a girl, and evidently, she was the Rocket Executive I was supposed to be taken to.

"They're not just kids. One of em's a teenager and his Pokémon are a match even for my experimental Poké —" Tyson said.

"Tyson, your experiments are just plain sad. I never got why you'd waste your time training twisted freak Pokémon," she said.

"It was what I was _assigned to do_!" Tyson yelled. "Of course you wouldn't know what that's like cause the second you joined you were—"

"I was NOT always an executive, and I'm sick of people always thinking that for me!" she yelled. I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about and I was especially confused at the fact that the Executive's voice and overall way of talking made her sound like a teenager. She probably was, but I was surprised that someone so young could be allowed to be an Executive on Team Rocket.

"Oh, it doesn't matter, I'll deal with them," she said, climbing out of the jeep. And then she stopped and stared long and hard at us. I couldn't see why, but regardless of that, the motion of pulling out a Poké Ball was as recognizable as ever.

From the Poké Ball burst out a flash of bright light that moved toward us with incredible speed even as it took its true form. It was an Arcanine, almost identical to Spencer's, with its thick orange and black coat and fluffy cream-colored mane. The firedog moved toward us swiftly and it was then that I could see the differences between the Rocket's and Spencer's Arcanine.

The mighty Pokémon was much larger for one, but its eyes had a certain ferocity only seen in one who has defeated nearly all they have challenged. It gave off an air of pure arrogance, the attitude of a seasoned fighter. It was right then that I realized that all of our Pokémon could never defeat all of the Rocket's Pokémon.

"Arcanine, cut off their escape and defeat that Typhlosion!" the Rocket yelled, her hand on another Poké Ball in case it was needed.

I was lost on what to do. Spencer looked as though he had just realized how hopeless the whole situation was. Rudy however, took off running behind us and yelled, "We can hide and attack from behind there so that her Pokémon wouldn't be able to directly attack us!"

I looked back and saw a ridge of rock jutting out from the mountain. What Rudy said made sense.

"There's nothing else we can do!" Spencer said, recalling his Dewgong because it couldn't run.

We sprinted after Rudy toward the rock wall, the Arcanine not far behind. Spencer's Typhlosion had stayed behind to protect us, but things weren't looking good. Despite the speed characteristic to Typhlosion, the Arcanine had managed to get in three slashes with its claws, only mildly burned in one place, while Typhlosion's fur was already scorched.

We reached the ridge and ducked back behind it. Spencer recalled his Typhlosion right before releasing, once again, the icy white seal known as Dewgong. The Arcanine let its whole body glow with flame before unleashing an immense wave of fire.

"DUUUUUgong gong gong!!!" Dewgong cried, shooting out a surge of water to meet the flame. Despite the Arcanine's incredible power, the water extinguished the bulk of the attack, leaving only small spurts of flame that hit the rock and died.

Of course, if the Arcanine really wanted to attack Dewgong, it could go around the rocks, but we could ambush it if it did. The Arcanine seemed to realize that and didn't come after us. Several seconds later, we heard the charging of more Pokémon. And then the obvious flaw in our spur of the moment strategy showed. We hadn't really thought about what would happen if we had to face multiple opponents.

Spencer clenched his teeth and said to his Pokémon, "Just wait for 'em, guys."

The second the Rockets' Pokémon turned the corner, Spencer yelled for all of his Pokémon to attack. Rudy's initial idea for hiding behind there worked—at first. Caught off guard, the Rockets' Pokémon were struck by several of the attacks. The victory was short-lived, however. Tyson's Rhyhorn and Sneasel and the Arcanine were among our attackers, only now there were three others as well.

The first and fastest was a Ponyta, a fairly small, off white horse, with a mane and tail made entirely of long streams of fire. The second, a Magmar, had no real resemblance to any kind of animal, but it was stood upright and was vaguely reptilian with an orange beak, shiny crimson skin, and yellow flame patterns from its waist down. The last one greatly resembled Chibi in that it was a Raichu, the mature form of Pikachu. Its short fur was smooth and dull orange with a white belly, and its tail was long, black, and skinny except for the part at the end, which was yellow and jagged.

But though it resembled Chibi, when I looked in its eyes I saw nothing but blank confidence. Not like the weird combination of rage and torment that Chibi seemed to give off. Right then, I wondered at exactly how much like Pikachu Chibi was. With normal Pokémon, you could see intelligence, emotion, and thought in their eyes, but with Chibi, it was sort of like there was more to his expression and emotion than there was even to humans'. I had a sudden wonder why Pokémon were treated like animals. Most of them were much more powerful than humans were and smarter too. Humans were so backwards. We controlled our superiors.

"Typhlosion, Fire Wheel, and crap, Dewgong's down…this isn't working!" Spencer yelled.

I was shaken from my thoughts to see Spencer's Pokémon losing badly. He had just recalled the ice seal in a beam of red, but I put down Chibi and turned to Firestorm, who had been standing next to me for the past few minutes. I pulled out of my pocket one of the few things I had salvaged from the items in the plane. I knelt and held out the item to him. It was small and red, shaped mainly like a flat case that was open at the front to reveal a CD-sized disc.

"It's a Technical Machine," I said, seeing the puzzled look on his face. "I don't think it's fair that Spencer's Pokémon have been doing all the work. We should help too—" I stopped. We? What was I going to do? Nothing—that was just it. I shook the thought out of my head and continued. "This thing can teach you to use all of your power to create an attack called 'Fire Blast.' Would you be willing to learn it to help us fight them?" I asked.

Firestorm nodded almost immediately. I wondered if he realized what kind of danger it would involve. I sighed, held the device several inches from his forehead, and pushed the biggest button. The disc glowed for a few seconds and began spinning, giving off a sort of wave from what I had once read on TMs. Firestorm froze and looked as though he had been seized by some invisible force. Slowly, the disc slowed and I pulled it away, but he still had a sort of blank stare on his face.

All this time, the battle had been going very wrong. Spencer had recalled his Arcanine, and things weren't looking good for the others. I started to pull out Swift's Poké ball, thinking he could stir up a sandstorm with his wings, but that would make all the Pokémon unable to see, not just the Rockets'.

And then, there was a brilliant flash of flames from behind me. A huge column of fire formed itself into a star shape and soared over us, filling the air around us with flaring embers. As I turned to see Firestorm spouting the intense flames, I wondered if he would always be able to attack like that.

It ended, and he sprang up and ran toward the fray, excited at his new power. Firestorm stopped and glowed, gathering energy again before blowing out a spurt of flame toward the battle. The second attack wasn't nearly as impressive as the first, though.

"Wha—what happened?" I asked.

Spencer turned from the battle. "What Charmander did before was just the initial reaction to the TM. That wasn't its real attack power. Teaching a weak Pokémon a powerful move doesn't really work. Trust me, I've tried it. But when it gets stronger, its attack power'll be something more like this," he said, turning back to the battle. "Typhlosion, use Fire Blast!!!"

The flaming Pokémon stopped what it had been doing and began to glow with an orange light. Suddenly, from the flare around its neck came an immense wave of flame that swept over the battlefield before becoming a star shape and aiming toward its target—the Raichu.

It tried to dodge the attack, but it was caught by one of the star's points and thrown into the swirling inferno. But then the assault ended, and it was thrown to the ground, burned, as the flames dissipated into the air. I had been thinking of how incredible the attack had been when I suddenly remembered the Entei… Its power…it had been so much more than even the awesome attack I had just seen. Running with flames erupting from its very skin. Miles of forest burnt in an instant. Just how powerful could Pokémon get?

With the Fire Blast attack, the battle was temporarily turned in our favor. But the odds were soon in the Rockets' favor again. Now just Typhlosion, Pidgeot, and Firestorm were still able to fight on our side. We needed help. And serious help, for that matter. I considered having Firestorm use Fire Blast into the air again to possibly signal to another trainer. Flying on Pokémon was a very popular way of travel, but then I remembered that Firestorm wouldn't be able to do the attack with as much power as he had the first time. And if Typhlosion stopped battling to try signaling for help, then we'd lose the most powerful fighter on our side.

"I can't think of anything more we can do!" Spencer said.

"But, we _can't_ lose!" I said. "If we do…" I left the sentence unfinished. At least Tyson wasn't in control of us anymore. I figured that I'd rather be captured by the other Executive. But even still, what would _she_ do to us?

In an instant, a huge high-pitched sound filled the air as an incredible orange and yellow energy beam surged through the air. The beam struck the Rockets' Pokémon perfectly, striking them with such force as to be only one attack—Hyper Beam. I looked up in the sky where it had come from and saw a tiny dot in the sky getting closer.

"AeeeeeerrRRRRRAAAAAAW!!!!" the dot called out, and from the voice, I determined it was an Aerodactyl. As it rapidly flew closer, I could see that there was a person riding on its back.

"Hey, Jade!" the trainer yelled.

I jerked in surprise. I couldn't see who it was clearly yet, but I could never, ever forget that voice.

"What the—Ajia?!" I yelled.

* * *

Claimer: I own the explanation on TMs, how they work, and the whole "initial reaction" thing. 


	4. Ajia's Return

**Chapter 3: Ajia's Return**

I couldn't believe it, but there was no doubt in my head that the trainer flying toward me was Ajia, despite the fact that I hadn't seen her ever since I was eleven. Her Aerodactyl was flying toward us at an incredible rate, mostly because it was one of the fastest Pokémon ever discovered. The rush of the wind tossed back her dark brown hair, and she grinned and waved to us from atop the winged dinosaur, her dark brown eyes contrasting with her light skin. She was dressed in light blue jeans and a gray shirt with red sleeves.

The creature she rode atop resembled a large, gray-scaled, pterodactyl-like dinosaur with powerful gripping claws and razor-sharp teeth. Despite its fearsome appearance, it seemed to have a sort of respect for Ajia.

"Who invited you here?!" Tyson shouted.

"Shut up, I'm the one handling this," the Rocket Executive said, watching, with great interest, Ajia landing next to us.

"You couldn't have gotten here at a better time," I said, sounding more than a bit desperate.

"Wow, when I first saw the battle, I didn't realize I was needed _that_ much," Ajia said, laughing slightly while sliding off the Pokémon's back. As she strode toward us, I noticed that she still wasn't very tall considering that she was fifteen, but at that moment, I wondered at the weird coincidence that she was the _one_ trainer to arrive out of hundreds flying over Kanto.

"You have no idea," Spencer said. His Typhlosion and Pidgeot were the only Pokémon left standing in the fight against the Rockets, Firestorm having run back to me after realizing that he couldn't attack with anywhere near as much power as he had the first time. Ajia walked forward with her Aerodactyl. Its previous attack had hit not only the Rocket's Pokémon, but also struck the ground around them with intense power. The end of the rock barrier was shattered, putting us in plain sight, but also allowing us to see the Rockets. To my dismay, the opposing Pokémon hadn't taken the full force of the attack. The Raichu was sparking from its cheeks and gasping for breath—most likely the effects of creating an electrical barrier.

It was only then that I noticed what had been sitting on Ajia's shoulder the whole time. Perched there was a small Pokémon with a strong resemblance to Chibi. Its fur was short, fine, and a light yellow color with zigzag patterns of black on its neck and its large diamond-shaped ears. The Pichu turned to see me with faint recognition in its curious blue eyes. I recalled the day Ajia had gotten it and then remembered that the Pichu was a girl.

Ajia surveyed the force of the Rockets and smiled. I wondered why until she said something that surprised me. "Oh good, this shouldn't be too hard and they've already been weakened, too. Maybe if they were at full power, it would be harder, but this'll be nothing like some of the battles I've had with various other Rockets over the years."

It sent a chill down my spine. So Ajia had fought Team Rocket as well, and from the vague hint, it didn't sound as though her battles had been easy. I then realized the obvious: some members of Team Rocket were probably also incredibly skilled trainers that had traveled and battled all over, honing their skills for years, and maybe even participating in Pokémon League competitions. I didn't ever want to battle against the ones that she had.

Something else was nagging at me as well. Out of all the trainers that could have been alerted by the signal, Ajia was the one trainer to arrive. What were the odds of the person showing up being both someone that I knew and an incredibly skilled trainer?

Pichu jumped off of Ajia's shoulder to stand her ground with Aerodactyl. Ajia pulled out one more Poké Ball and opened it to release an Espeon, a fairly small fox-like Pokémon with short purple fur, large pointed ears, and a long, thin, forked tail. Spencer had just recalled his remaining two Pokémon when Ajia joined the fight and seemed incredibly relieved as the three of them then rushed into the fray.

"Alright you three, Pichu, take out the Magmar; Espeon, keep any of them from dodging attacks; Aerodactyl, fly overhead and use Wing Attack!"

"Why didn't you send out more Pokémon?" I asked, slightly confused.

"So that they all don't get hurt at the same time. All of the Rockets' Pokémon together are more powerful than all of mine, so—hold on, let me finish," she said, seeing the surprised look on my face when she said that. "If I only send out a few Pokémon at a time, then when one gets hurt bad, I can recall it and send out another. That way they all don't get hurt at the same time if they used a large attack or something."

I couldn't help but stare: what she had said made no sense whatsoever. How on earth could she think she could win without much trouble, yet at the same time knew that the Rockets' Pokémon were stronger?!

"Pichu, dodge and use Thunderbolt; Espeon, Confusion!" she called out.

All this time her Pokémon had been fighting the Rockets'. The Pichu darted around the Magmar, lunging out of the way of a burst of orange flame while zapping it with a jolt of lightning. The magma creature hardly looked fazed and was about to inhale for another assault when it was hit by a burst of purple energy from Espeon. Jumping forward, Pichu unleashed a wave of neon yellow electricity, striking the beast and sending it reeling back into one of its teammates.

"Aerodactyl, Supersonic; Pichu and Espeon, get out of the way and attack any who try to escape!" Ajia instructed.

The gray pterodactyl swooped forward and let out a piercing screech at the opposition. I clapped my hands to my ears to block out the horrible sound and looked on as the experimental Rhyhorn charged back, but was held in place by another purple energy blast by Ajia's psychic fox.

I watched with fascination as her Pokémon continued to evade immensely powerful attacks while pulling off their own to overcome the Rockets' stronger Pokémon. It then occurred to me that Pichu hadn't been damaged by her own electric attacks, as was usual with her kind. She was so highly trained that she could completely control her power.

It was then that the Arcanine, tired from fighting the longest, collapsed from its wounds and exhaustion. '_One down_,' I thought as the Rocket Executive recalled it. But after that, she released it again close to her. I wondered why until I saw her holding various small items. From way over here, I couldn't see exactly what she was doing, but when she was finished, the Arcanine ran back toward us, cleared of all injury and its energy restored. And then suddenly I realized it: she had used a first-aid potion and an energy serum. I looked past her and, with a gasp, noticed that a Rocket, most likely Tyson, was holding a huge box likely to be filled with them. We couldn't win. It was impossible.

"Oh crap, there's no way we can win this," Spencer said.

"I could do it…" a quiet, muttering voice said. In an instant, I looked down in my arms and saw Chibi watching the battle intently.

"Do what?" I asked.

"Defeat them," he said in an even quieter tone than before.

"But…how? Powerful as you are, you've pretty much used up all your energy for now. The paper even said that you couldn't keep attacking for a long amount of time," I said.

But rather than answer however, he stood up and called out, "Pichu, come here!" Pichu turned to us and ceased her attacks before running over to stare questioningly at Chibi. He gestured to me to put him down and I did. Chibi quickly and quietly went over something with Pichu, and she nodded.

But then, for whatever reason, I realized what he intended to do. Because he was out of power, he wanted Pichu to channel all of her energy into him so he could attack both the Rockets' Pokémon and the plane at the same time, to end the battle and get rid of any other items in the plane.

"Wait, Chibi!" I said. "That won't work. If Pichu channels her power to you, it'll hurt you just like a regular attack would. Pikachus can't absorb electricity. You'd have to be something like a Manectric or an Ampharos or—"

"Or a Zapdos?" he finished. I stared long and hard at him. He had no way of knowing exactly what Zapdos powers he had inherited from the experimentation, but somehow, he had to sense the legendary abilities he had gained, and I trusted his judgment when it came to that.

"Okay…" I said slowly.

Chibi turned back to Pichu and nodded again. Rudy and Spencer had been watching the whole time, and even Ajia had turned from the battle several times to see what was going on. Chibi put his hand against the one of the electrical generators on Pichu's cheeks. Sparks flew wildly between them and I could see the flow of the electricity from Pichu to Chibi. The electricity circled around him for a few seconds before being absorbed into him. Chibi didn't have generators on his cheeks; the energy was created from all over his body, from what I had seen from his previous battling, so the electricity went into him all over. I could tell from his face that it actually was hurting him, but he let Pichu continue.

Finally, it was done. Pichu slumped to the ground, exhausted, and Chibi struggled to stand and recover from the pain before walking forward toward the battle. He pointed first at Ajia's Pokémon, and then at her.

"Recall them," Chibi said urgently.

"Are you sure?" she asked him. He nodded firmly. Ajia gave me a questioning look and I just shrugged.

Finally, she pulled out her Poké Balls and recalled all of her Pokémon but Pichu, who she walked over and picked up.

I was still slightly lost on Chibi's plan. He turned to me and said simply, "This ends now…"

From all over his body, incredible amounts of power were generated. Lightning surrounded his body and his eyes blazed with hate as he looked on toward the Rockets. He then said such a long string of Pikachu words that I thought I would never be able to translate, but the words just seemed to grasp me, and though I didn't really get what he meant, I knew what he was saying to them.

"I was spawned from your experimentation. You twisted life itself to make it so that my parents would bear a hybrid child. You wondered at my rebellious personality? I'll tell you why now, though most of you won't understand. You tied me to the very legends you are trying to defy. My heritage is that of Zapdos as well as Pikachu and through that I have come to know how you intend to accomplish your plans. And now you will see the result of your work."

Massive streams of electricity formed themselves around his body, twisting and writhing like snakes sprouting from his skin. Every single hair on his body stood on end, giving his fur an even spikier look than before. Through all of this, he concentrated every ounce of power he had gained and fired it in the form of an immense bolt of lightning. It struck the Rockets' Pokémon and though the Raichu countered with a barrier, it was already almost out of power and collapsed. Both the Rocket executive's Pokémon and Tyson's experiments were drained of power and injured nearly to the point of death.

Chibi had fallen to his knees, ache clearly visible in his eyes, but it was shrouded by fierce determination and vengeance. He then used the little amount of power he had left and sent a single lightning bolt flying towards the plane. Seeing what was coming next, the Rockets had recalled their Pokémon and gotten back into the jeeps and had begun to speed rapidly away from the transport jet. Chibi's power penetrated it and, with a sickening realization, I motioned for everyone to duck back behind what was left of the ridge of rock.

I didn't see it, but in my head, I knew exactly what was happening. With a roar, a fireball erupted from the overloaded power cells and engulfed the plane. It exploded into a huge column of fire that hurtled flaming debris everywhere. Then, suddenly, an immense roar filled the air, not from the fire, but from some sort of creature. There was a sound of rushing water and when I finally turned from the hiding spot, I saw that the Rockets' Pokémon had been recalled before the explosion, but the forest had been caught on fire. However, it apparently had been doused by whatever had filled the air with its fierce call.

The Rockets looked on as what was left of the plane smoldered with remnants of extinguished flame. For a while all was silent until the Rocket Executive finally turned to Tyson and said, "The Pikachu was a failed experiment?"

"Err, well…all our testing led us to believe that its enhanced power only tired it out and powerful as it may be, it can only store about as much power as a Pichu. Plus, it was impossible to control…" Tyson explained.

"Well, I guess in that case I think you just handed them a secret weapon…you know, they're coming up with ways to control even Legendary Pokémon, though I don't think the boss would've wanted to use that technology on a Pikachu…" the Executive said.

"That's why it was on the jet in the first place: to be sent for testing Legendary control devices on. What should we do?" Tyson asked.

The Executive considered for a while before saying, "Retreat. We'll fight them again later."

"But—" Tyson protested. "Most of their Pokémon are down, and I think most of us armed. We could just drive over there and shoot—"

"Yeah, but they could probably attack us with the Pokémon that haven't been defeated yet," she said. "We should leave…"

Tyson glanced down at the box he was holding: the box full of healing items he had gathered earlier. He could easily restore their Pokémon. He looked back at the Executive in bewilderment before throwing the box in the back and getting in one of the vehicles. The Rockets obeyed their order and the lead driver led the jeeps along a dirt path to the south.

I looked on as the jeeps pulled away. I then ran over to where Chibi lay unconscious on the ground. I gently picked him up and held him in my arms like before. His breathing was irregular and sparks shot out of his skin at random.

"Just how powerful is that thing?" Rudy asked.

"I don't know…" I said slowly, looking down at Chibi. "I think that most of the abilities that he's used today Tyson didn't know about. Still…I can't ever let him do that again, cause next time he'll end up killing himself…"

After I said that, it was quiet for a few seconds before Ajia broke the silence.

"So…I've been wondering…when were you finally allowed to get a license?" Ajia asked.

I sighed. The moment of truth had come. "I didn't," I mumbled.

"Huh?" she asked. "But you have a Charmander and also another Pokémon in a Poké ball. I figured the Pikachu wasn't yours, but…"

"I found the Charmander in the forest and Rudy gave me the Poké Ball to hold Swift, you know, my Pidgey," I said a little sheepishly, knowing it was illegal for me to be using the Poké Ball without a license.

"What happened? You couldn't have failed the test and—" she started.

"No, in fact, I was about six questions away from acing it," I interrupted. "Basically, I never got to receive my license. I got my grade on Friday so today I was supposed to go to a Pokémon League registration type place to get my license, but then all this happened, and…yeah."

"Well, you know, if you guys wanted I could fly you back to Viridian. It'd have to be one at a time, but—" Ajia said.

"I could fly one of them with my Pidgeot," Spencer cut in.

"Cool, thanks," Rudy said.

At first, I was excited, but then I realized something and said nothing. I knew that eventually I would have to tell _someone_, but that didn't make me feel any better. It was an agonizing secret that I'd held inside ever since September.

"I'm not going…" I mumbled slowly.

"What?" Ajia and Rudy asked at the same time.

"I said I don't wanna go back home," I muttered, turning away.

"…Why not?" Ajia asked.

I sighed. "Well number one is just mainly I'll be in mega trouble."

"Trouble? You were _kidnapped_."

"No, you don't get it," I said. "If I hadn't gone out wandering in a burnt forest, none of this would have happened. Therefore, it's my fault. Them being afraid for me was practically the whole reason why I could never become a trainer, despite all those precautions the League took since five years ago. After all this, my parents would probably never let me go outside again."

"You sound like there's another reason…" Ajia said.

"Yeah," I muttered. "Even after I get a license, my parents won't let me go on a Pokémon journey, so that means that…that if I go back I'll have to go with them when…we…move."

"What?! You can't move!" Rudy and Ajia yelled at almost the exact same time.

"We were going to at the end of the school year. My mom was sick of the big city, mainly cause of the crime. And this whole situation would make her want to even more," I explained. "Anyway, what's it to you guys if I move? You'll be off on your journeys," I muttered looking down.

No one spoke for some time until Ajia finally asked, "Where would you have to move?"

"Some stupid little mountain town in the middle of nowhere called New Bark," I said with spite.

"Hey, that's where I lived before I became a trainer," Spencer said.

"Oh…er—" I started awkwardly.

"Nah, that's okay," he said. Obviously he didn't have as much pride in his hometown as I did mine.

"Wait," Ajia said, "couldn't I just fly you back, let you get your license and then you could leave?"

"No, cause you need to be with a parent for them to give you the license, and you also need either your test, or a note from the Pokémon Handling teacher. That's what your dad did, right, Rudy?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah…" he said.

Ajia thought for a few seconds. "Dang, I can't think of any other possibilities. I think you're stuck, but…no…you can't go back and you can't move! I'll go back home and I can hide you in my closet and then we can play video games all the time!" she yelled randomly.

I laughed, but then thought about the situation seriously. "I don't want to go back, but…if I don't, I'm stuck as an illegal trainer with a lizard, a pigeon, and a suicidal, mutated mouse!" I ranted. "This is so stupid."

Rudy laughed after I said that, but then he looked slightly alarmed. "Wait a minute…you're gonna _keep_ that thing?" he asked, staring at Chibi.

"Yeah, if I can get him to respect me. He could be a big help if he didn't hate practically everything in sight," I said, only exaggerating slightly. "I don't have his Poké ball, so I'll just keep him until he wakes up and then explain the situation."

"So if you're not going back home, and you're not allowed to battle in official competitions cause you're not a licensed trainer, then what are you gonna do? You can't just stay here," Ajia said, sounding concerned.

I really hadn't thought about that. I was determined to find some other option, but I had to face it—there _was_ no other option. "You're right," I sighed admittedly. "I'm being a retard, I gotta go home. I can't battle, so I can't earn money, and I'd just end up like unsuccessful trainers that either have to go home anyway, or hang out on the streets, or—"

"Or join Team Rocket," Ajia added with a laugh. "Come on, then," she said, pulling out a Poké Ball to release Aerodactyl, who stretched its wings and waited expectantly for Ajia to mount it. She climbed up onto its back and pulled me on behind her. Firestorm jumped up behind me and held onto my shirt with his clawed hands. I had almost forgotten he was there.

"Alright then…" Spencer said, releasing his Pidgeot. The large bird of prey still looked worn out, but hadn't been wounded as badly as his other Pokémon. He mounted it and motioned to Rudy to get on behind him.

I checked my watch and saw that it was now almost five. The sun was just beginning to sink beneath the horizon, casting an orange and scarlet glow across the sky, slowly blending into navy blue. I sighed as Aerodactyl and Pidgeot slowly ascended into the air and imagined what would happen when I got back. Sure, I would have definitely preferred it if the Team Rocket situation had never happened, but it had been my only chance of being on my own as a traveling Pokémon trainer.

Thinking about Team Rocket made me suddenly remember something else. Like lightning, I snatched my wallet out of my pocket and dug through it the find a small white card. Desperately, I read it repeatedly, hope slowly spreading though me as I made my decision.

"Ajia, turn back!" I said suddenly.

"Uhh…why?" she asked.

"I can't really explain it completely, but I need to get to Vermilion to learn more about the S.S. Anne's next journey," I explained.

"Well, where's it going? I could take you there," Ajia offered.

"Err, well…I don't really know," I admitted.

"What?" Ajia asked, now thoroughly lost.

"Okay, okay, here," I said, handing Ajia the card the guy with the Charizard had given me. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but it'll be fine if you know."

Ajia quickly read the card and concentrated hard on it, as though trying to figure something out. Finally, she said, "It sounds pretty suspicious if you ask me. I mean, not telling where the ship's going or what you'll be doing."

"That's just cause the guy who gave it to me didn't want Team Rocket to find out anything, just in case they found one of the cards. He was about your age," I added.

"Okay…" Ajia said, still uncertain. She leaned forward and instructed to her Aerodactyl to turn south. There was a slight whoosh of wind as it changed our course.

"Hey, where're you going?" Rudy called out to us from atop Spencer's Pidgeot.

"Vermilion," Ajia said simply, grinning at Rudy's puzzled look.

"Rudy, when you get back home, tell my parents what happened and that I'm okay!" I yelled back to him.

"But what's going on?!" he shouted.

"I was chosen to do something, okay?" I said, deciding not to say anything more on the subject. Even if I'd wanted to, I couldn't, seeing as Aerodactyl was zooming away from Spencer, Rudy, and Pidgeot at an amazing rate, and we were now out of earshot. The ground whizzed by below us, and the air whipped at our faces. Finally, I caught a glimpse of the ocean in the distance as Aerodactyl slowly began to descend. It finally swooped low and landed just on the edge of Vermilion.

"Well, good luck," Ajia said. "Are you just gonna stay at a Pokémon Center for a month?"

"Yeah, probably," I said, knowing that it was cheap to stay in the rooms at Pokémon Centers, hospitals for Pokémon. Still holding onto Chibi's limp form, I dismounted Aerodactyl and watched it push off the ground to soar low above my head.

"Here," Ajia said, pulling out a pencil and a piece of paper. She quickly scribbled something down and tossed it to me along with an unused Poké ball. "For your Charmander. And just in case something else happens, that's my PokéGear number." I caught the ball, grabbed the small paper as it drifted down, and then waved to her. "I'll see you later, Jade!" Ajia called out before Aerodactyl streaked off into the distance.

I walked on slowly through the outskirts of Vermilion, searching for the Pokémon Center, but keeping my eyes mainly on the vast expanse of sea that surrounded two sides of the city. I sighed as I slowly accepted what I had gotten myself into. Tomorrow was my fourteenth birthday. And it would be a day of new beginnings.

* * *

Claimer: Even though it wasn't entirely elaborated on, I own the concept of certain Electric Pokémon being able to absorb static and others being able to absorb lightning. I also own the whole deal with Poké balls being illegal for non trainers and the way trainers register for licenses. 


	5. Voyage to Midnight Island

**Chapter 4: The Voyage to Midnight Island**

Clothes—of all the things to spend birthday money on… But if I was gonna wait around in Vermilion for nearly a month until the S.S. Anne left for…for wherever it was going, I'd need a few more outfits. I had chosen a few cool shirts and some pants that had Poké Ball holders on them and then realized that I'd need socks and that sort of stuff. I sighed, wishing that I had somehow known to grab some spare clothes when I had left home. Still, I'd had no idea that any of this would happen; I had just planned on riding around town a little while Rudy finished his chores.

I paid for the clothes and stuffed the store bag in my backpack. Outside, I sauntered along the bay toward the Pokémon Center while looking out toward the horizon, awed by the endless stretch of sea that surrounded two sides of Vermilion. The cool, salty ocean breeze filled the atmosphere, and I shivered a little with the chill in the air. Though I commonly wore T-shirts all winter, I still felt cold and wanted to get inside.

I entered the Pokémon Center and strode through the lobby and into the back area toward my room. I was allowed to stay in a room, despite the fact that I wasn't a trainer, but though I wanted to have my Pokémon healed, I knew that they would check for ID when I paid. I would definitely be in trouble if they found out that I was using Poké Balls without a license. In the end, I just decided that it was pointless, as Chibi was recharged by now, and neither he nor Firestorm had sustained many physical injuries from the battle.

After unlocking the door and entering the room, I placed the bags on the table and was soon greeted by Firestorm.

"What's that?" he asked, sniffing the bag.

"I already told you guys that I needed to buy clothes," I replied, flopping onto the bed. With a glance around the room I saw Swift perched on a chair and Chibi sitting in the windowsill.

Firestorm and Swift usually stayed out of their Poké Balls and in our Pokémon Center room, only occasionally coming with me when I had to go shopping. I seriously didn't blame them; it was boring and they would have had to wait outside the store anyway. As for Chibi—I had no way of restraining him, and he still hadn't particularly agreed or disagreed to my keeping him. He didn't really talk much, or even look at any of us for that matter. I rarely let him leave the Center with me.

After some time I spoke up, "Hey Firestorm, I wanna practice some more."

"Again?" he groaned. "Come on—if you can understand me well enough as it is, then why do we have to do this everyday?" The Charmander waddled over and sat across from me.

"I only got through half a semester of the AP Pokéspeech course, and up until then I was completely horrible at it," I explained. "Besides, they always said that the best way to get fluent was to practice all the time."

"Couldn't you talk with Swift?" he asked.

Rubbing the back of my head, I answered, "Um, not really…" Swift had never exactly been one to talk very much. Upon noticing that our conversation involved him, the Pidgey turned away sheepishly.

"Alright—same as always...I need to make sure I can understand you even if you say something really fast and illogical," I instructed.

He rolled his eyes at first, but then spat out a rapid string of words in Pokéspeech: "Charman'der char' chamanchr mander'char."

I raised an eyebrow. "'You are…bad at Pokéspeech'? I thought I said illogical."

"That was," he said promptly with a laugh.

I shook my head, but couldn't help laughing just the same.

"Why don't you try talking in Pokéspeech?" Firestorm asked me.

With a frown, I said, "That won't work. I mean, I could try, but there's no way it would come out right. It's just like how Pokémon can't speak human. You can't make the right sounds for human speech, and while I could get the syllables right for Pokéspeech, there's no way I could get the tones and enunciations down. But it doesn't really matter—most Pokémon can understand humans anyway."

Firestorm nodded, taking that opportunity to jump off the bed and end the practice. I watched him grab a plastic bag and rummage for a box of cookies. Smiling, I mentally noted that I would need to buy some Pokémon food or else wind up with very malnourished Pokémon.

The wind struck the window as I looked out towards the overcast gray sky. Three more weeks in Vermilion…

I sighed and flipped slowly through the remaining money in my wallet. Between the clothes, food, and staying in the room the past few weeks, I had spent almost all of my cash, despite the fact that staying at a Pokémon Center was dirt-cheap. Every now and then, I pulled out the card I had been given and read it again. It said meet in Vermilion prior to December 7 for further instruction, but I hadn't seen the guy with Charizard at all and the seventh was coming up in two days. For a while, I had wondered how I was even gonna afford the ticket to board the S.S. Anne.

I stood up off of the bed and replaced my wallet in my pocket before departing the Center again. I walked outside with Swift perched atop my shoulder and Firestorm at my heels and stared at the large array of ships in the harbor. A few days earlier, the S.S. Anne had arrived, and the crew had begun preparing for the voyage. The ship was huge and almost all white except for the top of it and the railing along the deck, which were shiny silver and black along the smokestacks; it was the typical cruise ship design. I was gazing up at the ship when I heard a rushing of air behind me.

"There you are, I knew I was forgetting someone," someone said. The voice was vaguely familiar, and I turned to see the guy I had met in the forest flying down on his Charizard.

"Oh, hey," I said.

The Charizard landed, and the tall, teenaged trainer climbed off the orange dragon's back. "Since you're here, I'm assuming you want to join the rebellion." I nodded and he continued. "Good, cause you're one of the only ones left that I haven't talked to out of the people I gave cards to. First of all, I wanna make sure you're really willing to do this. I don't want anyone joining and then deciding to quit after they realize that there's danger involved."

I shrugged. "Yeah I'm serious about it, but only mainly cause I got nothing better to do." I then added, "I also have a bit of a score to settle with Team Rocket."

"Okay," he said, pulling a small, stiff piece of paper out of his wallet and handing it to me. I took it and skimmed what it said quickly. Gasping slightly, I said, "This is a S.S. Anne ticket."

"Well how else would you be allowed on the ship?" he asked rhetorically.

"Yeah, but…if you're giving tickets to everyone whose joining the rebellion, then—" I started before he cut me off.

"I've got a ton of money to spare. I told the crew of the ship that I wanted tickets for the Pokémon Trainer's party on board and then bought two hundred or so of 'em. I only have a few left over."

I stared. "Holy crap, you must be rich."

He shrugged and said, "I won a lot of prize money in Pokémon League competitions. I actually placed second in the World Championships last year. Still, I spent a lot on the tickets and renting the stadium we're gonna use as headquarters."

"Which is where…?" I asked, for I had been wondering it for a long time.

"Oh, Midnight Island," he said, as though that answered my question. I had no idea where that was, but didn't decide to ask him. There was one other thing I had been wondering at, though.

"Wait, one thing I'd like to ask…you said you were recruiting beginning trainers. Why? Why not more experienced ones that would have a better chance when fighting Team Rocket?" I said, thinking back to the incredible way Ajia had battled.

"Beginning trainers are able to change their strategy easier than trainers who've been battling the same way for years. You need to be able to adapt to whatever opponent you face and I also figure I could help train beginning trainers on how to fight Team Rocket a bit more easily. By the way, did you get any more Pokémon?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah, I have a Pikachu back at the Pokémon Center," I said, leaving out the fact that Chibi was only about eighty percent Pikachu, and twenty percent Zapdos.

He nodded. "Your Charmander might be a pretty good fighter if you can evolve it. Same with the Pidgey," he added. He then walked over and got back on his Charizard's back once more. "Guess I'll be seeing ya with the others at Midnight Island."

"Yeah, later," I said, watching him fly off on his flame dragon. Right then, something occurred to me. "Hey! What's your name?"

"Stalker," he replied before soaring out of sight. I then returned to the Pokémon Center feeling a bit more anticipation for the trip than before.

"Ticket?" the man at the top of the ramp leading onto the ship asked. I retrieved the ticket from my pocket and handed it to him. He looked it over before placing it through a machine, handing me a card key of some sort and saying, "First and last name?"

"Jade Arenesa," I answered.

He entered it in on a computer and then said, "Alright, you're clear, welcome to the S.S. Anne."

I walked onto the deck of the S.S. Anne and into the bustling crowd of trainers. Many of those who were invited to Midnight Island had their Pokémon out with them for the Pokémon Trainer's party. Chibi, who had been walking alongside me the whole time, glared into the crowd disdainfully. I wasn't so sure about having him unrestrained around everyone, but there wasn't much I could do about it.

"Um…Chibi, can I talk to you alone?" I asked, wanting to discuss something with him before the party.

For a while, he didn't respond. I stared at him expectantly; finally, he nodded. I glanced around, found some stairs leading down to the cargo area, and descended into the immense space filled with crates and boxes of tools and various ship parts. Chibi followed me.

"Alright, look," I said flatly. "We need to settle this. I'm sorry, but I still don't entirely trust you. That whole time in Vermilion, I wanted to let you out of the Center more, but I didn't want you to, well…cause havoc or anything. I want you to just…I don't know…be normal?" Normal? It wasn't really the word I was going for, but Chibi got what I was trying to say. I was asking him to act more like a Pikachu. He turned and said simply, "I'll be myself," I wasn't sure whether it was progress or not, especially since I knew he had more to say. I was about to ask him what, but he cut me off.

His ranting in Pikachu was quiet as to not alert those upstairs, but filled with as much rage and infuriation as the time he attacked the Rockets and their ship. "I'm sick of it! Stop treating me like some demented raging animal or something! It seems like you just think that if you release me around people, that I'll go on a killing rampage! Would you treat any of your human friends, even one with, like, I don't know, an anger problem or something like this?!"

The question penetrated me, but Chibi didn't give me time to think about it. "You act like you're in control of me. Yeah, you're the human, I'm the Pokémon, but if you really want us to get along, then treat me like a equal, not a dangerous pet. And as for battling…" here he paused before continuing. "I'm not like other Pokémon…I don't need a trainer in order to battle successfully, but I'll listen to you if you want me to during a battle. Just so long as you don't pull that whole, 'I'm the trainer so you have to obey me' thing."

I stared long and hard at him, going over what he had said in my mind. Finally, I nodded slowly before holding out my hand. He studied my expression for some time, apparently thinking hard before and then shook my hand. Without saying a word, we then began to ascend the metal stairs back up to the trainer's party.

Suddenly, Chibi stopped and twitched his ears. He turned back toward the crates, glaring apprehensively.

"What?" I asked, slightly lost.

"Someone's back there…" he whispered, running back and taking small, silent steps. I followed extremely slowly and noiselessly after him, wondering what he had heard that had alarmed him. Finally, he stopped and slowly peeked around the corner of a crate, pulling himself back again almost immediately. "Listen," he muttered. I strained my ears to hear what only he could hear, apparently. Right then, however, whoever it was started talking and I realized that more than one person was there.

"D'you think the kid and the Pikachu are gone?" the voice whispered.

"Most likely. I heard footsteps going up the stairs," the second said. "Good thing, too. She could've been one of the ones on this ship that're gonna join that rebel team."

My heart skipped a beat when he said that. They had to be on Team Rocket, but how could they have known about the rebellion already? I mean, it hadn't even started yet! What the first Rocket said next, though, made me feel better.

"How do we even know that this thing is even really gonna exist? We're just going by a bunch of weird rumors going around with the new Pokémon Trainers."

"Not exactly. A few of the kids that got cards were actually among our new recruits. We know the rebellion's real," the first Rocket explained. "Unfortunately, though they waited in Vermilion, they never got a ticket. I guess whoever's behind all this made sure no Rockets could get within his or her ranks. I s'pose that's the only reason we're on this mission."

"Cinnabar Island…" the second muttered. "Cinnabar Island, why start a rebel team there? Besides, the island's pretty populated."

"Who knows?" the other said, with a tone of finality, as though he didn't want to talk anymore with an underling who was uninformed of the mission. I, however, was thoroughly confused. Cinnabar Island? The ship was going to Midnight Island. The Rockets obviously had their facts wrong, which was a good thing for Stalker. Otherwise, he'd never even get a chance to start the Team Rocket rebellion.

I headed back toward the stairs and motioned for Chibi to follow. We walked up the stairs, making sure not to create any noise, and returned to the main area of the ship.

I finally found a map framed on one of the elaborately decorated walls and stared at it before finally figuring out that Midnight Island was just off the eastern coast of Kanto near a tiny town called Lavender. Cinnabar, on the other hand, was quite a ways off of Kanto's southwestern tip. Why did the Rockets think we were going there? I then wondered why Stalker hadn't just bought us tickets for some ferry in Lavender Town. It had to be a lot cheaper.

Later that night, I lay in bed inside the room that corresponded with the card key I had been given. The past few hours had been very boring, seeing as I couldn't participate in many of the trainers' activities like special battles, contests, and such, and the Team Rocket matter had been constantly lingering in my head.

Whatever the Rockets were going to do, I doubted they would do it while everyone was still at the party, but I didn't have any idea what their plans were.

Firestorm was on the end of the bed, his tail resting on some non-flammable cloth, Swift was perched on a chair, his head buried in the down feathers on the back of his neck, and Chibi had snuggled down into the sheets. Finally, I just set my watch to go off in the middle of the night and eventually drifted off to sleep.

A tiny beeping noise awakened me at one in the morning. Groaning to myself, I reached to turn it off and slowly lumbered out of bed. I pulled on some shoes and regular clothes and walked toward the door.

"Char…?" Firestorm sleepily said.

I turned back to see him opening his eyes and lifting himself up to look at me. I replied, "I'm goin' out to figure out something. If any of you want, you can come."

"I'm pretty tired, so I guess I'll pass, but I'll ask Swift and Chibi," he said, walking to the front of the bed and pulling up the covers, revealing Chibi curled up in a ball with the spikes of his fur sticking out.

"Hey…" Chibi mumbled.

"Just wanted to tell you…Jade's leaving to go figure out…uh, something," he said, looking back at me questioningly. Chibi raised an eyebrow at me and I whispered, "Team Rocket."

"Ohhh…" he said in realization before jumping off the bed and walking over to me.

I noticed Swift hadn't stirred yet, but I decided not to wake him. I turned to Chibi. "Guess it's just you and me," I said as we walked out in the darkened hallway.

Very few people were still awake and most of the lights had been dimmed. We entered the main room to find it completely dark. All of the lights had been turned out, though in several other rooms that came off of the central area, light could be seen through the doors. I walked with Chibi down the side passage and opened the door to the cargo bay. We silently tiptoed down the metal stairway and into complete darkness. I felt my foot collide with something, and I quickly struggled to prevent myself from tripping over a crate of supplies at the end of the stairs.

"It's too dark to see. Chibi, could you make it just a little bit brighter?" I asked. He nodded and strings of electricity formed around his body as he began to glow with a dim yellow light. I don't know why he took the precaution, though. It didn't matter if it was a dim light or if it lit up the whole room, Team Rocket would see us if they were here.

Apparently they weren't here, because they sure weren't where they had been previously. We ran back up the stairs and looked around. Any paths leading out of the main room either had one of the crewmembers in it or led to the passengers' rooms. Wherever the Rockets were planning, they obviously had already started it in a remote part of the ship. I looked back at the passage to the cargo bay, which continued further into the shadows.

"Of course…" I muttered to myself. "Come on Chibi," I said as we slowly walked down the hallway and down another flight of stairs that descended into seemingly infinite blackness. Chibi had stopped glowing a few seconds earlier, for he knew it was crucial for us to not be seen. At the bottom was a second corridor along which we continued for nearly a minute. I could hear distant voices and footsteps. Chibi had raced ahead noiselessly to see if it was just crewmembers or the Rockets. The latter was more likely, for I seriously doubted that the crew would be down here with it so dark.

I knew I was nearing the end of the passage when Chibi ran back to me.

"Oh yeah, it's them alright, a little ways ahead," he warned.

I could see the glow of several flashlights piercing the blackness as we neared the Rockets. They were in the engine room, and fortunately, it didn't look like they had gotten there more than ten minutes ago. I knelt and walked with my back along the wall. The second I made it to the large chamber, I ducked back behind some storage crates and listened, though I couldn't pick out most of what they were saying.

"Chibi," I whispered. He turned and ran over to me. "Hey, can you hear what they're saying?"

"Yeah, sure, but unfortunately it sounds like they've already been all over the ship," he said, his voice lowered.

"Doing what?!" I asked frantically.

"Hold on a sec," he said, twitching his ears and making occasional glances around the side of the boxes. After a few seconds he turned back to me and said, "Not good…they've got explosives set up all over the ship. They're rigged to go off when activated by some remote thing that the leader's got. I guess they're gonna get off this thing and then blow it up."

"We gotta stop them and getting the controls is our best bet," I said.

"Couldn't I just knock all of 'em out?" he asked.

"We can't risk it. If one of them is holding on to it, it'd get short-circuited, and that could activate the explosives."

"Fine then, I've got an idea," he said.

"What can I do?" I asked eagerly.

"_You_ can be there to catch the remote when I throw it to you after getting it away from them," he said.

"Hey," I said and was about to protest but he had already jumped out from behind our hiding place.

He turned back one last time, gave me a skeptical look, and said rather loudly and noticeably, "Come on, fighting Rockets is a Pokémon's job. What else could you do?" Of course, the Rockets probably couldn't understand him, but they sure had heard him.

"A Pikachu?" one of them asked. Another one turned his flashlight on Chibi, who stood completely still, eyeing them. The Rocket studied Chibi for several seconds before finally recognition hit him.

"Of course…" he muttered in realization, before yelling to the others, "It's the escaped experimental Pikachu! All who have Pokémon release them, now!" Instantly, there was a huge white flash that disappeared just as soon as the Rockets' Pokémon materialized from within the Poké Balls. The darkness hid them the second they emerged, and the only things I could see were where the flashlights were pointed. Chibi jumped out of the beam of light and slipped behind the opposing Pokémon. The Rockets aimed the flashlights in that direction, but he was already gone. It had just begun to dawn on the lead Rocket that they were at a serious disadvantage.

"Manectric, use Flash!" a female Rocket commanded. Right after she said that, there was a crack of static electricity as a bright glow of energy was generated from a large blue and yellow dog Pokémon with a long mane on its head that stored power. The engine room was completely illuminated, but Chibi was nowhere to be seen. The Rockets switched off their flashlights and their Pokémon looked around in confusion. I noticed Chibi long before they did. He had somehow managed to use his power to cling to the metal roof. He struggled to control the electricity so it would make no noise as he walked along the ceiling. He stopped to position himself and I wondered why until I saw that he was above the Rocket holding the controls for the explosives.

"Look!" the Manectric called out, generating a bright yellow bolt of lightning and firing it upward at Chibi. He lunged out of the way and landed in the middle of the Rockets.

It was complete pandemonium. Chibi rushed away from the Rockets, immediately jumping to avoid two of the Rockets' Pokémon and launching a neon blast of Thunderbolt at the green thunder dog. I understood his plan—take out the Manectric to make it dark and also get rid of the one Pokémon there that could sense his electricity, being an Electric Pokémon itself. Unfortunately the blue dog managed to elude his assault and ducked back behind the other Pokémon. Chibi attacked the closest Pokémon to him but was unable to dodge a stream of blazing flame that struck him along the back. He fell in mid-jump and slid along the floor into the wall, his back burned, and his fur singed.

"That's it, I don't care what Chibi says, he needs help," I muttered to myself, but then I suddenly realized the Firestorm and Swift were asleep back in my room. Chibi had struggled to stand just as all of the Rockets' Pokémon fired their attacks at him. He then pulled off a series of moves that I seriously wish I could have seen in slow motion.

Just when all of the attacks were inches away from him, he channeled all of his energy into generating an electric force field, simultaneously absorbing the Manectric's power and blocking the other attacks. He then raced across the floor, jumped up above the Rockets, and swung his tail forward, knocking the control out of the lead Rocket's hand. Since he was behind several of the Rockets, he didn't have to worry about being attacked by their Pokémon as he grabbed the remote in his mouth and tossed it behind the crates.

"I'll stall 'em, get outta here, now!" Chibi shouted.

As fast as I possibly could, I snatched the remote-like device up off the floor and sprinted out into the passage the led back to the main area of the ship without looking back. I could hear blasts of electricity from behind me—probably Chibi keeping the Rockets from pursuing me.

I studied the remote and saw that it had a screen at the top and several buttons underneath. It was a lot more complex than I had figured, so I pushed a small button directly under the center of the screen. It lit up instantly with a menu screen that said Location, Timed Activation, and Settings. I selected Location and the screen cleared before showing around twenty small red dots and a larger, blinking blue one.

"Of course…" I said in realization. "This thing shows where all of the bombs are…" The blue dot had to be where the remote was in relation to all of the explosives and it was nearing one of the red dots on the screen. Using the minimal light given off on the screen, I scanned the walls for anything out of the ordinary and, sure enough, found a small, circular device stuck to the wall. I tugged at it with my fingertips and found that it wasn't hard to detach it before heading back to the main room and searching for all of the bombs.

For nearly half an hour I ran all over the S.S. Anne, realizing exactly just how immense it was in the process. Every so often, I would go out on the deck and throw all of the bombs I had collected so far off the ship and into the sea, where they sank to the ocean floor. I couldn't help wondering, however: where was Chibi? Could he possibly have been fighting this whole time?

I had just thrown the last three overboard when I started running back to the rooms. I quickly pulled out my ticket and swiped it along the card scanner on my door, opening it.

"Firestorm, Swift, wake up," I said almost immediately while flipping the light switch on. The noise and sudden brightness made both of them awaken instantly. Firestorm stood and said, "What's going on?"

"Team Rocket was planning to kill everyone, and Chibi seriously needs our help," I said, grabbing my Poké Balls and wallet and sticking them in my pockets. Swift flew over to my shoulder as Firestorm jumped off the bed, ready to go. I was about to run back out the door, but then I grabbed my backpack, just in case I didn't get a chance to get back to the room. We raced down the hallway and, once again, into the central area of the ship.

"Chibi!" I yelled as loud as I possibly could, not caring if I woke someone up. "If you can hear me, get to the main area, now!" I knew Pikachu had incredibly acute hearing, but would if he was too injured to make it here? I was running back toward the passage to the engine room when I heard several footsteps running toward me.

"Crap!" I said, turning around as fast as I possibly could and running the opposite direction.

"Not so fast!" the lead Rocket yelled. Slowly I turned to see all of them standing behind me with Chibi limp in the lead Rocket's arms and all of the Rockets' Pokémon out in front.

Chibi managed to look up at me and said, "Used all my energy…hope you got another plan 'cause they quit usin' the Manectric against me a long time ago and I'm spent…" They had to have realized that Chibi could absorb electrical attacks and had recalled his only remaining source of power.

"Shut it, you!" the Rocket yelled at Chibi before turning to me. "I thank you for returning Experimental Pokémon Number Nine back to us. Now that we know that it was successful after all, it could be a big help in our current experimentation. That said, you have something else that's ours."

"No way you're getting this back!" I yelled, clutching the remote.

"Swift and I can battle 'em!" Firestorm said fiercely.

"What, no way! You guys can't take down all of their Pokémon!" I exclaimed.

"Chibi may be the strongest of us, but that doesn't mean we cannot fight," Swift said. I turned in surprise, not really familiar with the voice because he didn't usually talk. I nodded and said, "Okay…"

"If you're through talking with your Pokémon, then let's get down to business…Ninetales, attack!" the lead Rocket yelled. The large, cream-colored fire fox that had managed to injure Chibi rushed forward, its nine graceful tails swirling dramatically as it leaped into the fray.

"Niiiiiine!" Ninetales yelled as a sort of battle cry before unleashing a wave of flame upon Firestorm. Swift took flight and entered the fray while Firestorm lunged to the side, barely evading the attack. While Ninetales was dealing with Firestorm, Swift had swooped downward at it, his wings glowing in a Wing Attack. The fire fox turned aside and smacked Swift right along the back with its slender paw. Swift let out a cry as he went flying into the wall with three wide lines of blood staining his feathers.

"I knew this wasn't a good idea," I said to myself, realizing immediately that the Ninetales was clearly stronger than the other Pokémon. I quickly pulled out Swift's Poké Ball and recalled him. "Firestorm, you sure you don't wanna bail?"

Firestorm shook his head and turned back to Ninetales resolutely.

"Enough of this, Ninetales, Fire Spin!!!" the lead Rocket shouted.

I gasped. Fire Spin wasn't exactly the most powerful flame technique around, but it was nearly impossible to avoid. It completely surrounded an opponent in a column of fire, leaving them trapped within a swirling inferno. The amount of time for which the move could be used in official competitions was limited, as to not injure the Pokémon too badly, but this was no League battle.

"No, Firestorm!" I yelled, but it was too late. He had been caught in the attack and thrown into the blaze. I pulled out his Poké Ball to recall him, but the flame blocked the beam of red light that shot out of the center of the ball to draw him into it. I could see his silhouette in the assault, curled into a ball and very nearly collapsed. Suddenly the fire pillar expanded around the middle and the rush of flame burst into hundreds of embers that dissipated into the air. I looked closer and saw Firestorm engulfed in a sphere of flame that burned brightly around his body.

"What the—?!" the Rocket yelled.

"…Rage…" I said slowly. It was an ability that could only be used when a Pokémon was under great stress, anger, or pain and tremendously heightened a Pokémon's power. From within the fire, an incredible white light came forth and completely illuminated the immense room. The shielding flame around Firestorm ceased and his body shined with the glow as, before our eyes, he grew over two feet in size and completely changed in shape.

His scales changed to a reddish color, the burns and blisters from the previous attack faded, and his limbs grew more defined from his body. Elongated and thickened, his arms ended in heavy blade claws, and his muscular tail was covered in flame on the end. Finally, a single horn sprouted from the back of the skull and his face stretched into more of a dragonish snout.

"He's…evolved into a Charmeleon…" I whispered in awe. Pokémon evolution was usually triggered by age, as it was a Pokémon's only way of maturing, although battle experience had a lot to do with it. Firestorm turned back to me, his eyes a different shape with much larger whites surrounding the blue irises. He was brimming with pride and confidence as he turned back and resumed the battle once more.

The Ninetales was slightly stunned from having its attack broken up like that and its trainer had been in wonder at the sudden burst of power Firestorm had gained, but the Rage had worn off by now and Ninetales knew it and was ready to fight. It crouched defensively and snarled.

"I'm sick of playing around," the Rocket said, recalling his Ninetales. "Pokémon Training never was my thing and wasn't how I earned my position with Team Rocket. Besides, only wuss Rockets rely on their Pokémon to get their way." Here he paused and reached into his pocket to pull out a small metal item, hidden by the darkness, but glinting with a silver sheen as it caught the limited light of the moon shining through the windows. I hesitated and was lost for words as he pointed the gun right at me. "Don't even think of running and hand over the remote."

I stared mindlessly at the weapon, completely lost for words as I felt a surge of terror spread like ice in my veins. I was about to say something, but then I had a sudden thought that even if I gave him the remote he would probably shoot me anyway. But even still…if I did give it to him, both me and everyone else on the ship was dead. Then I noticed Chibi motioning to me. He kept shaking his head and winking at me. I mouthed the words, "You sure?" and he nodded. And then I got it: he had most definitely charged up a limited amount of power in the past few minutes.

"Well, what's it gonna be?" he said. "You got five seconds."

"Now!!!" Chibi yelled, channeling all of his power into the Rocket, who slumped to the floor under the attack. Just as I took off running with Firestorm, Chibi wrenched himself free and followed us.

"Someone tranquilize the damn thing already!" the lead Rocket yelled furiously. Several seconds later I heard the sound of something small and fast whizzing through the air behind me.

"Pika!" Chibi gasped, dropping to the ground. I turned and saw a dart sticking out of his left shoulder. I was about to run over to pick him up, but he yelled, "Get outta here! They need me brought back alive, but they'll kill you in a second if you wait around here, now go!!!"

It seemed like my legs were on autopilot as I obeyed him and ran off, making as many turns around corners as I could. I had to get away, but to leave him back there like that…? Repeatedly, I glanced over my shoulder, both to see whether I was being pursued, and in wonder of whether Chibi was all right.

The Rocket that had shot Chibi with the tranquilizer gun ran over and picked him up. He tucked the mutant rodent under his arm as he turned back to his leader, who was struggling to stand after being under the effects of the electricity.

"What should we do about the girl?" he asked. The lead Rocket was about to answer, but one of the others interrupted.

"Let me handle this," she said, releasing her Manectric. "It'll be much faster."

Sure of what to do, the Manectric nodded, raced off into the darkness, and was gone for little more than a minute. The Rockets waited in silence until it ran back, out of breath with strings of electricity leaping from its fur.

"Did everything go accordingly?" its trainer asked. The Manectric nodded. "Was the girl knocked out at least?" At this, the Manectric shook its head. The Rocket cursed and said, "But you're sure you managed to short-circuit the remote?" The Manectric nodded its head vigorously yet again.

"That'll do then," the lead Rocket said as all of the Rockets recalled their Pokémon. He turned to the others and said. "We're done here. Now let's go."

They all pushed a button on their backpacks, which made two small jets burst out of the sides and activate. Energy blasted of the jetpacks in an invisible force as the Rockets lifted off the deck and soared away.

I slowly stood to my feet after the Manectric ran back to the Rockets. It had zoomed toward me using its electricity to run at super speed before firing a Thundershock attack at me and leaving before Firestorm even had a chance to attack. As the weakest of all electric techniques, it hadn't hurt immensely—sort of like an extremely bad static electricity shock, only all over my body. The remote that was still in my left hand was sparking, though, and the screen was jumbled. With a sinking feeling, I read the words that had appeared on it: Automatic Timed Detonation Activated.

"What?! But…we got rid of all the explosives!" I yelled, but then I realized the obvious: the Rockets had to have had more of them that they hadn't positioned yet when I ran off with the controls. After I thought I had thrown all of them off the ship, the Rockets probably just put all of the ones they had left in the engine room afterward.

The screen started to change and slowly formed a sort of countdown, with four minutes and thirty-two seconds left. I thought fast, but there was no way to stop the detonation. The engine room was too far away; there was no way I could get them off them ship in time. Only one logical solution remained…

"Come on, Firestorm," I said, dashing back to the main room as fast I could. On the side of a wall to the right, I saw it. I ran over and pulled the switch down.

I don't know what I expected, but the S.S. Anne's emergency alarm put school fire drills to shame. An earsplitting, high-pitched screech blared out of speakers in every single room in the whole ship. I held my hands against my ears as I dashed up a flight of stairs to the captain's quarters. Halfway there, a tall, gray-haired man in a white suit ran down toward me, yelling, "What is going on?!" as loud as he could to be heard over the noise.

"No time to explain, the ships gonna blow up in four minutes, we gotta get everyone off!" I yelled.

"You sure about that?" he asked, running his fingers through his beard in thought. "How do I know this isn't some kind of prank?"

"You've gotta trust me!" I yelled, thrusting the controls into his hands. "Or else we're all dead!"

He studied the remote for a second before nodding and running back up the stairs. Several seconds later, the alarm quieted slightly as the captain used the speakers and yelled, "This is not a drill! Get to the lifeboats immediately to evacuate the ship!" Right after that, he ran back down the stairs and toward the central area, followed by the rest of the crew. Already, people had started to gather in the room, most of them still in their nightclothes and almost all of them yelling in panic trying to be heard over the constant blare. People were tripping over one another either trying to get outside or run back to find their friends. The captain pulled out a radio and yelled into it, though I couldn't hear him and I wasn't sure whoever he was talking to could either.

By this point, most of us had managed to group together and race out onto the deck, where the cold air pounded against us as we ambled on towards the back. Apparently, there were supposed to be lifeboats there, since that's where the captain was leading us, but the racks for storage along the back of the ship were empty, most likely the Rockets' doing. The captain sort of stood there shocked, but then regained himself, put away his radio, stood on a table so everyone could see him, and yelled instructions to us, which was easier out here since the alarm was louder inside.

"For whatever reason, the lifeboats are gone, so there's no way off the ship! I'm afraid we're going to have to jump! Those that can't swim well, get help from someone who can, and if you have big enough Pokémon with you that can swim or fly, release them now!"

After he said this, several of the trainers pulled out Poké Balls to release Flying Pokémon and jumped onto the backs of the various aerial beasts to fly off the deck. Those that had Water Pokémon didn't hesitate to jump overboard and release their Pokémon to help them swim in the choppy waters. Rain was pouring down on us the whole time and the waves in the ocean were rough. Most of the passengers hesitated before finally plunging into the sea. I shot a look at the remote, which now read thirty-nine seconds, before running back to the main area, where more of the passengers had just run out of their rooms and were lost on what to do.

"Quick!!!" I shouted. "We have to jump overboard, now, so use Flying or Water Pokémon to help you if you have 'em, and if not, just get off the ship and worry about the storm later!"

They followed my instructions and ran out onto the deck, where most of the others had already jumped over the railing. There were only about two hundred people that had gotten out here so far, but there wasn't time to get all of the rest of them out here. I ran back outside and was one of only eleven people who hadn't jumped yet. The remote now had a bright red fifteen that was flashing as a warning.

"You better get in here, cause it's gonna get wet," I said to Firestorm, pulling out his Poké Ball and recalling him. I then wondered exactly how powerful the bombs were. There weren't that many of them, but what if the explosion ended up big enough to hit people in the waters right next to the S.S. Anne? Finally, I shook myself from all of my thoughts and took off running toward the side of the deck without looking back. I jumped up onto the railing, kicked off, and let myself fall.

* * *

Claimer: I own Midnight Island. The name, the location, everything. I also own Team Rocket's portable explosion system. The details on how Rage works are technically mine, but it's pretty general and has probably been used before. 


	6. Team Rocket Training

**Chapter 5: Team Rocket Training**

I landed with a splash in the numbing cold waters of the Orange Sea and immediately dove underwater as fast as I could. I swam downward until I was almost sure the bombs had already gone off before kicking back up and surfacing. I gasped for air as I looked up and saw that the explosion in the engine room had apparently been under the waterline. Immense waves of water were created from the force and swept over us, and flames had erupted from that room and were now consuming the higher parts of the ship. Although it wasn't completely annihilated, as it would have been if I hadn't gotten most of the explosives off the ship, it was clear that the S.S. Anne was starting to slip downward into the sea's endless murky depths.

Several of the passengers were submerged by the towering waves and most of the others were having difficulty swimming. As if that wasn't bad enough, the raindrops were practically pounding on our heads and the normal waves now seemed to be the same size as the ones created from the explosion. I had learned how to swim when I was very young, but I was horrible at treading water and I could already feel my legs tiring while I was smothered by the rush of seawater around me.

One of the trainers had released her Gyarados, which growled lightly and allowed her to sit atop its massive, draconic head. Many of those who couldn't swim well were climbing up the marine snake-dragon's thick, blue armor-like scales and onto its serpentine body, but even the enormous cobalt beast found it difficult to navigate the storm with so many passengers. After I considered the fact that the Orange Sea and the islands in the southern parts of it had tropical characteristics, I had a sudden fear that a hurricane was nearing. I wasn't sure whether hurricanes formed in winter, but the clouds didn't seem to be swirling with the circular hurricane motion. I struggled to remember what I had learned in school about hurricanes, but wasn't sure whether the spiral cloud thing happened until later. Wait a minute—if there was a hurricane, then the weather officials would've known, and the S.S. Anne wouldn't have been sailing here. Right?

"Crap, this is getting me nowhere," I said, attempting to shake all of the thoughts on the storm out of my head and swimming toward the others.

I didn't notice it until it was too late.

All of the other waves were tiny compared to this one. It rose over all of us, massive and seemingly endless. If I had only seen it earlier, I might have been able to dive under and avoid it, but it seemed to come from nowhere. I was caught in the middle of it and struggled to swim away, but my efforts were pointless—like a lone soldier fighting against an entire army. It thrust me under the surface and knocked the air out my lungs. I kicked upward, but was rapidly feeling a lack of oxygen. I hadn't really had time to inhale deeply beforehand and had already been out of breath at the time. I swam as hard as I could, but the surface seemed to be miles away, and a constant feeling that I wasn't going to make it lingered at the back of my mind, hindering my progress.

Finally I surfaced with a splash and gasped for breath, just thankful to be above the water that it took me a second for the full effect of my surroundings to hit me.

It was gone. The storm, the waves, the rain…everything was gone. The others looked up at the sky, amazed at the phenomenon. I swam over, and was about to ask someone what on earth had happened when something caught my eye. I turned to the left to see a rescue boat speeding toward us as though nothing had ever happened.

At first, I was surprised that a rescue boat had arrived so fast, but not after I learned that we were right off the coast of Fuchsia, a beach city on a southern peninsula of Kanto. We were all standing, most of us shivering as well, aboard the white and red rescue ship, which was about five times as large as most recreational boats, but still nothing compared to the S.S. Anne.

A computerized touch pad was passed to me with the names of everyone who boarded. We were evidently supposed to sign our name so the officials could know many had escaped the ship in time and survived, so I took the stylus, scribbled my messy, printed signature next to my name, and passed it on. Before I did though, a particular name caught my eye and I stared long and hard at it to make sure it was really there: Rudy Flaranel. It had a signature next to it.

Rudy was there the whole freaking time and didn't even bother to let me know that he was?! I mean, there hadn't really been that many of us who had made it off the ship, how could I possibly not have seen him?! I groaned and walked though the group of huddled people, searching each face until I found him sitting down inside of the boat rather than out on the deck. I walked inside and sat down next to him.

"Hey Jade," he said brightly before laughing slightly at the look on my face and saying, "Guess I should explain some stuff, huh?"

"Ya think?" I asked, laughing a little myself, the air of anxiety gone just from being with a good friend. "I'd sort of like to figure out this weird coincidence."

"It's not a coincidence. You know that Stalker dude who gave out the tickets? He prob'ly told you how he's way involved with Team Rocket. He actually saw our whole battle against Tyson."

"What?" I suddenly asked. "You mean he was there the whole time and didn't help us?"

"I dunno, I think he said he had something to do with your friend showing up. Anyway, he talked to me and gave me the card thing after I got back to Viridian and mentioned that he'd given you one, too. I sort of got in trouble for being gone all day, but I did tell your mom that'd you'd gone on a journey with Swift and that you already had a Charmander and a Pikachu. Anyway, around a week later—"

"Wait, wait, wait…how'd my parents react?" I asked, wincing a little.

"Oh…yeah, um…" Rudy put his hand behind his head and looked a little sheepish. "Let's just say that before I told 'em, your mom was like, ready to call the cops and thought that you'd been kidnapped or something. I figured it'd be smart not to tell 'em the whole Team Rocket story."

"Oh, God, I'm dead," I muttered. "Someday I gotta like, write a letter and explain that everything's going okay. Meh…anyway, what happened after that?"

"Oh, yeah…um, my dad let me start on a Pokémon Journey about a week after that, so I made sure to grab the bus from city to city until I made it to Vermilion, and I got there about four days before we left," Rudy explained.

"But I was at the Pokémon Center the whole time, how could I not have seen you?!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, I never stayed at the Pokémon Center, I spent most of my time looking for Pokémon along the outside of the city," he replied.

"Did you catch anything new?" I asked with curiosity.

"Yeah, I spent a long time looking and I managed to find a Pikachu in the Viridian Forest, and well, he obviously doesn't have super powers or anything, but he's still pretty formidable," Rudy said, grinning.

"So anyway, how come I never saw you on the S.S. Anne?" I asked.

"I was looking for you during the Trainer's Party but couldn't really find you," he said. I decided not to mention that I had spent most of the evening during the party in my room unless you counted my talk with Chibi. At the thought of Chibi, I ached inside. Team Rocket wouldn't kill him, but what kind of tormenting things would they do to him to further their other ways of experimentation? While I was lost in my thoughts, Rudy explained something about seeing me while in the sea and trying to get my attention, but me not seeing him. That suddenly reminded me and I instantly asked, "What happened to stop the storm?"

Rudy stopped and gaped at me. "You mean you didn't _see_ it?"

"No," I replied a little awkwardly. He had made it sound as though no one in his or her right mind would have missed it.

"It was a little creepy, but way awesome," he said. "That last big wave was made by this huge…thing swooping down at the ocean. The clouds were blocking the moon and stars, so I couldn't really see it, but right before it appeared, the storm stopped and the waves calmed down. Right as it dove into the water, the moon showed through the clouds, but even then, all I could really see was the shadow of a dragon thing in the water.

"Sweet," I said, seriously wishing I had seen it. That said, the conversation somewhat seemed to be over. I stared out the window for a long while before going over to one of the other bench chairs and lying down. I rarely fell asleep very fast; it sometimes took me over an hour to get to sleep, but this time was an exception.

I woke up at about ten to the sound of everyone moving around. I had thought that the boat would just take us to Fuchsia, but apparently, those in charge of the rescue ship had thought it better to take us to our original destination.

I slowly stood to my feet and walked out onto the deck. The boat was docked at a fairly small harbor at the edge of a city. I looked along the side of the boat and saw a ramp leading down toward the dock.

"What's going on?" Rudy asked, walking over while rubbing his eyes.

"I think we're here…Midnight Island," I replied looking out at the city. It was fairly small actually, though it probably seemed that way since I grew up in the big city. Along the outskirts of town, a forest started and looked like it covered most of the island. Out in the distance, on the far north side of the island, I could see a large building, possibly the stadium Stalker had rented, though I wondered why it was out in the woods.

"Hey, everyone!" one of the trainers yelled after walking out of the Pokémon Center. "The lead nurse in there just told me that we're supposed to go to that stadium way out there," she said, pointing first to the stadium, and then to a street that led to it. Many of the trainers hesitated and looked at one another, as through regretting the decision to come here. At first I figured that last night had made them realize the danger they would have to face, as even I had trouble blocking out the memory of what had happened. But then I realized it.

I had gotten lucky. I hadn't even known that Rudy was on the ship, and both of us had gotten off alive anyway. But many of the trainers had to have lost friends when the S.S. Anne sank. After some time, however, a few kids walked down the ramp onto the dock, and the others followed soon afterward.

Looking back at the ship, I asked Rudy, "Do you think we're allowed to just leave?"

"I dunno, but I don't really think it matters," he replied, shrugging.

I then suddenly realized that Firestorm and Swift had been in their Poké Balls all night ever since I had to jump overboard. I pulled the red and white spheres out of my pocket and opened them, releasing the two Pokémon.

"Huh, what're you releasing your Pokémon for?" Rudy asked.

"Well, they've been stuck in their Poké Balls for a long time," I replied simply as Firestorm and Swift appeared and looked up at me expectantly.

"What happened?" Swift asked immediately.

"We obviously made it off the ship in time if we're here," Firestorm said. "What I'd like to know is what happened with Chibi before we woke up."

"I meant after the battle. I didn't see what happened," Swift said.

"I'd also kinda like to know what was up with the ship exploding and all," Rudy said, since he had probably managed to catch the general idea of what they were saying.

I sighed before going into the events of the previous night. From when Chibi and I heard the Rockets in the storage area to when the Manectric initiated the automatic detonation, I explained everything as we walked on toward the stadium. Finally the trees grew sparse and we emerged into a large clearing where the stadium lay surrounded by gray pavement. It was shaped like a wide cylinder and had tons of windows lining the side of it, most likely where the rooms were. The main entrance at the front opened as we approached, so the hundred or so trainers made their way slowly inside. We were in a large waiting room type place with a desk at the far end and two hallways branching off to the left and right. Large computer panels lined the walls, most likely used for trainer registry during competitions.

Having heard us enter, Stalker soon walked in from the left hallway. He surveyed the group before saying, "I know there were more people I gave tickets to. Are the others late or—"

"The S.S. Anne blew up…some of us didn't make it off in time…" one of the kids in front said, looking down slightly.

"Blew up?" Stalker said, looking slightly taken aback. "I'll have to get the details on that later. Anyway, everyone line up so I can get you all registered."

At once, the huge mass of trainers all started to shove for a spot close to the front. Rudy and I were around twentieth until a bunch of people cut several others in front of us. One by one Stalker led the kids to his office to get them registered for the rebellion. Finally, after nearly an hour, Rudy was at the front of the line, followed by me. Around seven minutes after his turn, Rudy came back carrying two small cards and some black clothes.

"See you when you're done," Rudy said, walking down the other hallway.

"Next," Stalker said from the office.

"I think you guys had better stay here," I said to Swift and Firestorm. They nodded and I walked down the hallway and into the room. It was small and didn't really look like an office. There was a small table with a laptop and various other computer-related devices, a small bookshelf with several books that, at a glance, seemed to mostly involve Pokémon training and legends. The few pictures on the walls seemed to be of mythical Pokémon.

"I've asked most everyone this and only the Rudy kid had any info, but what happened with the S.S. Anne?" Stalker asked. I briefly explained to him the string of events involving Team Rocket. Stalker nodded and said, "I figured that Team Rocket would somehow figure out about our team, and that's why I took a couple of precautions."

"Like what?" I asked, sitting down in a small black chair.

"Well, for one, I didn't say anything about where our base was or who I was on those cards. Otherwise, Team Rocket could have easily destroyed this stadium, though their whole midnight operation to kill all the team members would've been way worse if it had gone through. And second, they can't know I'm involved in all this, because I'm also on their Johto Force. Trust me, you do _not _want to be caught as a Rocket traitor. Also, I had a friend of mine hack into the database for the S.S. Anne so that it was listed as sailing to Cinnabar," he explained.

So _that_ explained what the Rockets said about the base being on Cinnabar Island.

"So as far as the Rockets know," Stalker continued, "the rebellion against them was stopped in its tracks and the ship was destroyed along with everyone on it. Of course, they'll probably figure out the truth once their missions start ending up failures."

"I've been meaning to ask this…why didn't you just have us all take some ferry here from Lavender Town instead of going though all this?" I asked.

"Midnight Island doesn't have that many people going to and from it, and on top of that, Lavender is a tiny town with hardly any people. Two hundred or so Pokémon Trainers going there at one time would be pretty suspicious," he explained. "Now enough of that, I need to get you signed up so we can get everyone registered today. Your name's Jade, right?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Okay, well, you'll probably need a fake name cause sometimes you'll fight Team Rocket just as yourself and other times you'll infiltrate their bases posing as one of them."

"Oh, okay," I said, going over several names in my head. After a few seconds, I finally settled on one that I had used in games as a kid. "Um, Aly I guess."

"Right," he said, typing that before saying, "you can use the same last name unless you want to use a fake one."

"Nah, that's okay, my last name's Arenesa," I said.

Stalker typed for a while and clicked on several things before asking for my birthday. I answered, "November 12, 2009," and that seemed to be all the information he needed.

"Right, that's everything. Now just the uniform," Stalker said, leading me to another room that was sort of like a huge closet filled with tons of pants, shirts, and optional parts of the Team Rocket uniform like hats. "Of course, you won't wear this while pretending to be a part of Team Rocket missions. As you've probably noticed, they're almost never in uniform while on undercover missions, but you'll need to be in uniform while at their headquarters. Pick out what you want," he said, leaving and closing the door.

I tried on various pants and shirts, all black and bearing the red R of Team Rocket, before finding an outfit that fit well and looked cool. I had managed to find a gray vest, a regular black T-shirt, and also black cargo pants, but my best find was the skullcap. It, like everything else except the vest, was black with an R, but it looked awesome and best of all, I really did not look like myself while wearing it. Though it probably wouldn't change anything if I were to run into Tyson or one of the other Rockets that knew me, it would help so that everyone else didn't realize that Jade and Aly were the same person. I put on the clothes and walked out holding my backpack and the outfit I had been wearing before, which was wrinkled and stiff from the seawater. I left the room and walked back into the office, where Stalker was leaning back in his desk chair.

He nodded and said, "I doubt you'll be discovered as long as you always wear that when acting like a real member of Team Rocket. Now for the picture." He adjusted a small camera on top of his computer that I hadn't noticed before. He clicked once and I tried not to blink. He then clicked several times, and one of the machines turned on and made a loud noise as it did…whatever it was meant for. A few seconds later, a small card popped out of a slot on the bottom of it; Stalker handed it to me.

"Cool, a fake Team Rocket ID," I said, looking at it. It had the Rocket logo on top, my picture on the side, and various pieces of information on the right including my position as a beginning member of Team Rocket, my join date, age, gender, and being registered for the Kanto Force.

"Nope, it's real," he said.

"You mean I'm _really_ in with Team Rocket?" I asked incredulously.

"Well you'd have to be to be able to get into their bases undetected. A fake card could be easily found out. But I'm allowed to register new members any time I want, so if I submit you guys' registrations over time, no one on Team Rocket will get suspicious," he explained.

"But…" I said, confused, "if all of us joining the rebellion are _really_ registered with Team Rocket, then we are real members."

"Alright, officially, yes, but technically, no, cause your sole purpose for joining is to screw with Team Rocket, so Rocket traitor is more appropriate a title. Anyway…you don't have a trainer's license yet, do you?" he asked.

"No."

"Then I can't register your license with a room, so you'll need this," he said, handing me another card, slightly smaller than the ID. "It's card key for a room here. The main battlefield entrance is down the hall and to the right. Only one last thing to handle…I'll need your ID card."

After I handed it to him, he opened a drawer in his desk and went through its contents. He pulled a small blue device that looked like some sort of cell phones and plugged my ID card into the bottom. After several seconds, there was a beep and he removed the card.

"Rocket Communicator," he said, handing it to me along with my card. "All Rockets are issued one, and they're going to be absolutely invaluable to The Rebellion. They work a lot like cell phones except that they can only call other Communicators." I suddenly remembered Tyson's mention of that when he called for reinforcements on one.

"Oh yeah, and since I'm renting the whole stadium and letting you guys stay in for free, you don't really get paid as much as I had originally intended," he added.

"Paid?" I asked. It hadn't occurred to me that we'd be paid to fight Team Rocket.

"Well, yeah. And also depending on how well you fool the Rocket Executive that's head of you into thinking that you're a loyal, contributing member, you'll get paid by Team Rocket, too."

"Cool," I said, before walking out of the office. Seeing that I was done, the next person in line walked down to the room and I went back to the line to get Firestorm and Swift.

"Whoa," Firestorm said, seeing me in the Team Rocket uniform. Swift stared with no recognizable expression.

"Yeah, to be on the rebellion I gotta be registered on Team Rocket," I said. "Come on, let's go find our room," I said, walking down the right hallway past the battlefield and up two flights of stairs.

"249…249, oh, here it is," I muttered, walking towards the door and touching the card key to the scanner. A small light turned green as the door opened and I walked in.

The room was fairly small, but nice. It was large, rectangular, and had a normal-sized bed by the far wall with a nightstand, a dresser with a TV, and another table with chairs. The window looked out on the forest—I could see nothing but tons of trees with a small clearing to the side and a glimpse of the city and the sea far off in the distance to the south. I threw my backpack in the corner and flopped onto the bed. Swift flew over and perched on a wooden chair and Firestorm sat on the bed with his tail hanging off the side.

"So…we've made it here, we've got our room, now whaddya say we get something to eat in town and then check out the battlefield?" I asked.

"You got any money left?" Firestorm asked.

"Not much," I admitted. "Hopefully I can make it last until I get paid, or maybe I could ask Stalker to borrow some…? Oh well, let's get going."

I changed back into my original clothes in the bathroom. When I was done, Swift flapped lightly and landed on my shoulder as Firestorm and I walked toward the door. We strolled out the door, along the stairs and past the actual battlefield part of the stadium, where several trainers were already practice battling. For the most part, we walked on in silence, along the path we had originally followed to get to the stadium. I had always liked nature, and I glanced at the dense forests that covered the bulk of the island, the call of the birds in my ears. Finally, we neared the edge of town, and I wandered in search of a Pokémon mart until I found one near the Pokémon Center alongside the dock.

It was not unusual for some trainers to keep small Pokémon outside of their Poké Balls even inside stores, yet I still felt slightly weird, walking around with a Pidgey on my shoulder and a Charmeleon at my side. I perused the first aisle with intrigue, for I had never been in a PokéMart before. There were several rows of items ranging from capture devices to travel conveniences. A display of Poké Ball belts hung from the wall to the right, along with necklaces and other carriers. I had once owned a single-ball necklace, but these ones held six.

"Do you even _need_ a Poké Ball belt?" Firestorm asked incredulously, noticing how much I was staring.

"Er, not really," I replied sheepishly. "I can't even use the holders on my pants since I'm not even allowed to have Poké Balls."

"But…"—he glanced around confusedly—"should Swift and I not be out while other humans are around?"

"There's nothing wrong with you guys just _being_ with me," I said, although I wasn't entirely sure of that.

We came to the second aisle, where all the Pokémon food was. I browsed the shelves and found the woodland bird and predatory reptile sections. I grabbed one bag of food for each, staggered slightly with the weight, and proceeded to the register. However, I couldn't help but gaze longingly at several of the items in the other aisles. Powerful Technical Machines, stronger variations of the Poké ball, power increasing vitamins for Pokémon, hold items the helped in battle…

"You're doing it again," Firestorm said with a smirk.

All of the battling supplies required a license upon purchase, so I couldn't have bought anything anyway.

I bought the Pokémon food and walked quickly to the nearest convenience store, buying some bread, various chips, and some cookies when I got there. I stumbled back outside, nearly overloaded with purchases, and handed the less heavy food to Firestorm, carrying the Pokémon food myself.

"D'you mind holding that stuff?" I asked him.

"It's nothing," he replied quickly.

"You know…" I said suddenly, just remembering something I had been wondering for a while. "When we first met, how could you understand me right away? I mean, Swift and me have been friends for a while so he understands humans, and Chibi was raised by Team Rocket, but you were in the forest, so—"

"The explanation behind that is lots simpler that you think," he said, cutting me off. But then he sort of looked unwilling to tell me. "You see, I was actually raised by human as well, as a Starter Pokémon. I was given to some kid—his name was Zack—as his first Pokémon. Things went okay for a while; he started a journey and I just sort of did what he said, seeing as I didn't know any better. Well…one day we were attacked by some older gang kids. I fought their Pokémon and lost, and they messed with me for a while, practicing their Pokémon's attacks and such on me." Here he paused, heavily considering his words. "Eventually, I escaped from them and I ran out into the woods right away."

"Wow," I said slowly. I hadn't realized there had been that much more to his past than I had figured. "But if I was able to capture you, then your old Poké Ball must have been destroyed somehow."

Firestorm nodded. "I soon found out that there were a lot of Charmander in that area, so I hooked up with a small group of them west of the city. I spent a long time there, until finally, well…there was the fire," he concluded.

I wasn't really entirely sure what to say, so I didn't say anything, which felt very awkward. Firestorm proceeded to glance along at the scenery. Another thought struck me, however.

"Firestorm?" I said again suddenly, thinking out loud more than really starting a conversation. "I always learned that when Pokémon evolve, it's like they're jumping five or so years on the physical maturity scale, right?"

"That's more or less what it's like," Firestorm confirmed.

"Well, in suddenly growing that much, most Pokémon often grow mentally as well and sometimes even have a whole new outlook on life and their trainer…how come you didn't?" I asked.

Firestorm grinned and said, "I was wondering when you'd ask that." He paused for a moment and said, "Well…have you ever wondered how old I am?"

"It's crossed my mind more than once," I said truthfully.

"Well…" he continued, "I'm seven."

"But…Pokémon age faster in their early years than humans, so in Pokémon years that would make you…twelve?" I asked.

"I guess," he said. "I dunno how humans age, but…"

"Well…the amount of battle strength a Pokémon has drastically lowers the evolution age, and you've already been trained which means you should have evolved like…whoa, _two years ago_!" I exclaimed.

"Exactly," Firestorm said grinning.

"Well…that pretty much explains it all…" I said. I could almost literally hear the words that my old Pokémon Evolution teacher had said during class: "In the event that a Pokémon evolves after the typical maturity age, less psychological change comes about, due to it having longer time to learn and grow mentally before the evolution."

"What about you, Swift? You've sure been quiet," I commented.

"Oh," he said, as though being shaken from a trance. "I was just sort of thinking…"

"You know, you're probably getting close to evolving, would you want to?" I asked.

He considered this for a while. "I suppose. Even being a Pidgeotto would be nice, but to someday soar with the eagle wings of Pidgeot…" His voice trailed off.

For about an hour more, we walked back until finally reaching Midnight Stadium again. I left Firestorm and Swift by the battlefield as I ran back to the room to drop off the food. We then entered the field.

"Hey, Jade!" Rudy called out to me. He ran over with Ebony trotting at his side. "It's about time you got back. Hey, listen…you wanna have a practice battle?"

I turned to Firestorm and Swift. The latter just shrugged, while Firestorm said, "Sure."

"Okay, I'm gonna battle with Swift," I said to Rudy before telling Firestorm, "Swift hasn't really ever gotten to battle much."

Ebony stood lightly on her jet-black paws, ready to fight. Swift released his grip on my shoulder and flew down to rest gently on the stadium floor.

"Alright then…" I said, "Swift, tackle her!"

"Ebony, dodge and tackle it yourself!" Rudy yelled.

Swift pushed off the ground with his talons and shot through the air flying in a fast, tight circle over Ebony before finally diving forward for the impact. In an incredibly agile motion, Ebony leaped aside and lunged back at Swift, smacking him with her paws. He was sent sprawling through the air until he managed to regain control of his flight and soared back toward his opponent.

"Are you okay?" I asked. Swift nodded resolutely, not wanting to screw up his second battle. "Okay, then try a Wing Attack!"

Swift nodded and focused his energy into his wings, which began glowing with a shining white light. He swooped low and sped towards Ebony, ready to strike, when all of a sudden she jumped up over Swift right at the second he changed direction. She landed awkwardly from the failed pounce and was immediately struck by the Pidgey's Wing Attack.

"Ebony, try to jump on it one more time!" Rudy instructed.

With one swift lunge, the Houndour darted out of the way of a second Wing Attack before leaping back, pouncing on Swift, and tossing him back towards me. He hit the ground hard and struggled to stand, his back clearly aching.

"I…I don't want to quit, but…can I stop?" he asked slowly as though worried I would be disappointed.

"Yeah, sure," I said, pulling out his Poké Ball and recalling him, knowing that he would hurt less inside it. I then walked over to Rudy and said, "Good battle, but how come you're so good already, I mean—"

"Ah, well…that'd be Stalker's doing. He's been going around and giving short strategy lessons to everyone, you should talk to him. In fact, here he is now," Rudy explained.

"I wanted to see how Rudy was doing now and I guess you need some help too, Jade," Stalker said, walking over. "Did you ever take Battling and Strategy in school?"

"Yeah," I said, leaving out the fact that I had pretty much forgotten everything I had learned in it.

"Yeah, well, seventy percent of battling should be strategy, only thirty percent brute strength," he continued. "To give you an example…say I had my Charizard use a Flamethrower attack on your Charmeleon. What would you do?"

I paused and thought about it slightly before saying, "I guess since Charizard's way stronger and faster, I'd have him dodge it and use multiple fire attacks himself, so he doesn't miss." Right after I said that, I suddenly realized that had been, in a way, what Ajia had done: battle a stronger Pokémon, yet win through strategy. It was at that moment that I realized exactly how much I needed to learn.

Seeing the look on my face, Stalker said, "Just figured out how complex battling is, huh? You could have a one-on-one battle between two Pokémon and over a million things could happen. What you just said, however, is the basic concept of strategy. Once you've got that, you can start learning how to defeat trainers with more powerful Pokémon than you." It was yet another example of how Stalker's training was similar to Ajia's. I wondered if they knew each other.

"Is that all there is to it?" I asked.

"Well, no. See, pretty much all of the Rockets you'll battle will have stronger Pokémon that you, and you need to master this to beat them," Stalker explained. "A lot of people think that trainers just stand there and yell the attacks while the Pokémon do all the real work. Although it is true that the Pokémon do all the battling, no matter how smart they are, strategy has to be up to the trainer.

"See, it's extremely hard for Pokémon to battle and strategize at the same time because they're focusing on the battle so intently they're bound to miss a lot of things. But because the trainer is watching it happen from a distance, they can see what both their Pokémon and the opponent's is doing, making it easier for them to make a strategy that fits into the entire battle and lets the Pokémon never take their mind off the opponent," he explained.

Firestorm nodded; he had been hanging on Stalker's every word. I was getting it now. "So…even if an opposing Pokémon is more powerful than yours, if you can out-strategize the trainer, you have a chance at winning?"

"And that chance will only increase with training. Now there are a lot more aspects to battling, like training your Pokémon to attack without command, using hand signals for attacks to not give away your moves to the opponent, and even getting to the point where you don't have to command for your Pokémon to know what you want them to do, but those all take time and we'll work on that later. For now, I just want everyone to understand the concept of strategy," Stalker said. He pulled out a small microphone and held it next to his mouth. I looked around the stadium and noticed several speakers along the walls.

"Listen up trainers!" Stalker yelled, his voice issuing from the walls. Once he had everyone's attention he said, "I've gotten to talk to most of you about strategy, but for those of you that I haven't yet, don't worry, I'll get to you. I just wanted to tell everyone that as long as you practice this, you'll be able to take on Team Rocket 'cause they don't stress strategy in their training. When I think you're ready, I'll find a mission for you all to go on."

"What are we gonna be called?" a voice suddenly called out from the crowd.

"Yeah! We need a team name!" someone else yelled. At once, everyone started talking and yelling out ideas. "How about Team Midnight, 'cause we're on Midnight Island!" one kid yelled. "No, we could be the Team Rocket Rebellion!" another shouted. "Nah, that's too long, just The Rebellion! It sounds more mysterious and harder to track down!" a girl exclaimed excitedly.

"I like the sound of that," Stalker said all of a sudden with a grin. "All in favor of The Rebellion raise their hand!" Over half the kids shot their hands into the air. "Well, that settles it," Stalker said, smiling. "In a few weeks, The Rebellion is gonna be a force to be reckoned with."

* * *

Claimer: I own Midnight Island even more this chapter than I did last chapter. Its layout, geography, stadium, ruins—_everything_. The explanation of Pokémon evolution and how it works is mine. Any non-canon Team Rocket info, including the Communicators, is mine. (Only specifics—obviously I can't claim the entire concept of Rockets simply having means for communicating). And, of course, The Rebellion. 


	7. The Race for Raikou

**Chapter 6: The Race for Raikou**

A blazing inferno surged through the air toward its target, which lunged to the side as a red blur. The source of the assault, the mighty Charizard, surged forward toward its opponent, its muscular blue wings straining with tension. Suddenly, the flaming orange dragon was knocked forward, a large glowing hawk being the cause of its blow. It lunged back towards the dusty tan bird and smacked it with its tail. Flames surged through the air. The dragon was hit!

Firestorm let out a triumphant roar of "Chaaaaar!" as the Charizard, hardly injured at all, but still burned, glided back to its trainer. Stalker grinned, his icy blue eyes having a sort of satisfaction in them. The hawk, Swift, soared down, the red plumes that adorned his head swaying in the air.

"Perfect. Sure it was two on one, and you only hit Charizard once, but hey, seeing as you've only been a trainer for a month and a half, that's impressive," Stalker congratulated. "The last two weeks have been great for the whole team."

And what a two weeks it had been. Swift had finally evolved, Rudy's Squirtle had evolved, Ebony had learned to breathe fire, and nearly everyone had improved incredibly under Stalker's training. Not only had we trained in Pokémon, but also in Team Rocket. We all knew the basic setup of the team and its operations, and we were ready for our first mission.

A young, red-haired boy ran over and frantically asked Stalker if he would watch him battle with a friend. With a slight wave, Stalker left with him. I wandered through the stadium with my two Pokémon until I found Rudy pitting Ebony and Wartortle against each other in a practice battle. Ebony's speed and agility were even more striking now, but the real improvement was in Wartortle, who had once been Rudy's tiny Squirtle. He now stood around three feet tall and had sharp claws tipping his fingers and toes. His ears appeared to be feathered and his tail was snow white and fluffy, almost like a cloud. His confident brown eyes radiated determination.

"Hey, Rudy, ready for today?" I asked, beaming.

"You bet," Rudy said, grinning with anticipation. Stalker had told us a week ago that today we would be put into "mission groups," groups of three trainers that would go on missions together and look out for each other. The main reason was that today we would be informed of what our first Team Rocket mission to mess up would be.

After he had finished with the red-haired boy, Stalker pulled out his microphone for the announcement. "Alright, trainers, last week you chose whether you wanted to actively sabotage Team Rocket's missions or infiltrate hideouts." Rudy and I had, of course, volunteered to actively screw the Rockets' plans. "The infiltration force will be able to spy and collect data on Team Rocket whenever they want but the active force can only go on missions when the Rockets do, and that's in one week. Everyone on the active force can take part in making sure that the Rockets' operation is a failure, but to do that you first have to get put on it, which is why I've told you a week in advance.

"You'll all go to the base on different days to avoid suspicion. When you meet up with Team Rocket, you'll be put under the command of an Executive, and you've got to do everything you can to convince them that you're qualified for taking part in their operation. First of all, here are the mission groups," Stalker explained.

He then proceeded to name the groups. Rudy and I had requested being paired together and I wasn't particularly paying attention to the various names he called out until he announced, "Group four: Jade Arenesa, Darren Dranera, and Rudy Flaranel."

"Awesome," I said, high-fiveing Rudy. "Now we just need to find this Darren kid."

It turned out to be easier that I had thought. Everyone was bustling around trying to find each other, so Rudy and I just walked around yelling, "Hey, who's Darren?!" until we found him. He looked to be around Rudy's age and was slightly shorter than him as well. His overall appearance was small and skinny, his dirty blonde hair fell to his ears, and his eyes were a light blue shade. He walked over and said, "You guys must be Jade and Rudy, huh?"

"Yeah, since were gonna be mission partners we might as well get to know each other. Me and Jade are from Viridian," Rudy said.

"I'm from Pallet Town," Darren stated. I was slightly lost until I remembered that Pallet was a small coastal town south of Viridian.

"Oh yeah, and these are Firestorm and Swift," I said. Swift waved his wing as a sort of greeting while Firestorm extended a clawed hand, which Darren shook.

"My Pokémon are Ebony and Wartortle and also a Pikachu," Rudy said, motioning to the two creatures at his heels.

"Cool Pokémon," Darren commented. "I've just got an Ivysaur and that's it, but he's gotten pretty strong."

"Hey," I said, something occurring to me all of a sudden. "He never told us exactly what the Rocket's mission was."

I looked back at Stalker and all of the trainers, most of whom had found their mission partners. He waited a moment before speaking up. "All of you should have gotten a Rocket Communicator from me and if you don't have it with you, then remember this number: 5103. That's my number, so you should add it to the call number list on your communicator along with the numbers of your mission partners. The numbers are the same as your ID."

Rudy and Darren both reached into their pockets and pulled out the small blue cell phone-like devices, pushing several buttons.

"Mine's 5368, what's yours?" Rudy asked.

"5349," Darren replied, referring to his Rocket ID.

"Just a sec," I said, fetching it from my pocket. "It's"—I checked the profile option—"5369…yeah, that makes sense since I joined right after Rudy."

Soon afterward, Stalker continued, "Alright, Team Rocket's next operation doesn't really have a set location at this point, but those participating in it are stationed at their secondary headquarters in Celadon. For a while they've been tracking the movements of the Legendary Pokémon, Raikou, and in any way possible you've got to prevent them from capturing it. Those of you with big enough Flying Pokémon can just fly there, but for the others, we'll have to work something out involving my Pokémon," he explained. "Everyone in groups one through five on the active force meet outside, everyone on the infiltration force stay here and wait for me."

I was excited—there wasn't any other word for it. Fifteen other kids pushed out of the stadium and Darren, Rudy, our Pokémon, and I followed. We emerged outside the stadium and patiently waited for Stalker to come out. I turned to the sound of Poké Balls opening and saw several trainers in the crowd releasing large bird Pokémon. I turned back to the stadium and saw Stalker pulling out four Poké Balls of his own and releasing his Pokémon from the spheres in a flash of light. One of them, of course, was the Charizard he always used. The large orange dragon emerged from the ball next to Stalker and flexed its wings slightly. I had never seen Stalker's other Pokémon before, though.

His Dragonite was the second of his Pokémon that I noticed, mainly because it was taller and possibly more majestic in appearance than his Charizard. It was mainly a yellowish-orange color with wide, light yellow scales on its belly and a rounded snout. Though it looked much heavier than Charizard, its wings were smaller—spanning less than twenty feet.

Stalker's third Pokémon was also a dragon, but it was green scaled and much different than the other two. The Verdegon was between the heights of Dragonite and Charizard, but was more muscled then the two and had external ears and cobalt spikes on its head. Strangest of all however, was that the last finger on each hand was extremely long and had thick azure skin spanned between it and the arm—like the wings of a pterodactyl.

The fourth Pokémon, and the only non-dragon was a Wallarooby, a tall kangaroo-like Pokémon with tan fur, powerful leg muscles, and a long, furry brown tail. Its most distinctive feature, however, was the large pair of feathered wings folded against its back.

"Okay, since Celadon's halfway across Kanto I'm gonna have you guys fly on my Pokémon to get there. What you're looking for when you get there is a big warehouse on the southern edge of the city. It should have a sign that says it's involved with a casino called the Game Corner. The entrance is in the back corner, but make sure you're in uniform before you go in," Stalker explained.

Everyone immediately lined up to ride the Pokémon, and Rudy Darren and I ended up near the end. Charizard, Dragonite, and Verdegon could carry two passengers, and Wallarooby only one, so to fly all of us would only take two trips. About ten minutes after streaking off into the distance, Dragonite returned, followed five minutes after that, by the other three.

"Better get in here," I said to Firestorm and Swift. The two Pokémon nodded as I recalled them. Rudy ended up riding alone on Wallarooby and both Darren and I were on Dragonite. I climbed up onto the dragon's back and sat right above its wing joint. Darren climbed on behind me and we were ready.

With a running start and a few flaps of its mighty wings, Dragonite was off. It waited until we were at a decent altitude before holding its arms and legs against its body, with its wings pointed back. I gripped Dragonite's neck, knowing that we in for some serious speed. At once the orange dragon began flapping its wings almost faster than the eye could see and we accelerated to hundreds of miles an hour. Both Darren and I leaned forward, the rush of the wind whipping at us and threatening to blow us off. It was like being strapped to the top of a jet plane.

After finally getting over the sudden zoom, I asked Dragonite, "How're you doing?"

"You askin' me?" it replied in a fairly high, yet clearly masculine voice. He turned back slightly to look at me with his large yellow eyes.

"Well…yeah," I said rather awkwardly.

"Eh…okay, I guess," he said, apparently not wanting to talk much.

"You know Pokéspeech?" Darren asked all of a sudden.

"Yeah," I said.

"Cool, me too, I took more than just the one semester of it," he said and I nodded to show that I had done the same.

After several minutes of flying with the constant whoosh of the air, I looked down at the ground below and saw that we were descending upon the largest city I had ever seen. Huge skyscrapers lined its downtown, buildings were everywhere, and its suburbs extended out several miles adding to the overall impression of immensity. Dragonite slowed his speed, stuck out his wings to create drag, and finally lowered us to the ground. Both Darren and I slid off of his back.

"Thanks," I said, glancing back at the dragon. He nodded before taking to the skies once more.

Stalker's instructions on where the headquarters were had been unneeded, for Dragonite obviously knew the right building and had dropped us off right at the warehouse. We were on the sidewalk right by it. Darren started walking toward it until I said, "Wait, what about Rudy?"

"Oh, yeah," he said in realization. We waited for a few minutes until finally I could see a Pokémon in the distance getting bigger with every second. Wallarooby surged towards us like a bullet, and from the ground, you could really see how fast Stalker's Pokémon were. The kangaroo-like Pokémon swung its wings forward and soared toward the ground. It landed twenty feet from us, and Rudy jumped off its back before it returned to Midnight Island.

"Hey Jade, Darren…this the place?" Rudy asked.

"Yup," I said, motioning to the sign on the front of a large building in front of us. On the bottom of the sign, in small print, it read, "In association with the Game Corner. Storage and prize shipping facility for branches in Celadon, Kanto; Goldenrod, Johto; and Mauville, Hoenn."

"Here's the question of the day: how do we get in?" Rudy asked. I wasn't really sure. There were large double doors on the front for allowing large semi trucks in, but there didn't appear to be a regular door. Darren walked over to the left and glanced along the side of the structure.

"Here's a door," Darren said, pointing to an entrance near the back. We walked over and saw that it was a mechanized door with a card scanner along the right side.

"I bet that's for our ID cards," Rudy said, quickly pulling out his card from his pocket and swiping it along the scanner. A light flashed green and the door slid open.

We entered a brightly lit hallway with another door leading to the main part of the warehouse and what appeared to be an elevator at the end. Turns out, it _was_ an elevator and as we neared, it opened. We walked inside and saw that where there would normally be buttons there was another card scanner. Rudy swiped his ID along it and a small gray cover flipped up to reveal a single glowing button. Rudy pushed it.

The elevator doors jerked shut and we descended underground. In just a few seconds the doors opened again and we caught our first glimpse of a Team Rocket hideout.

I'm not entirely sure what I expected but it wasn't what I saw. In fact, at first glance, you'd probably think "office building." Fluorescent lights lined the ceiling, seeing as we were underground, and nearly everything was drab and gray. To the side, there was a man at a central computer desk and several other Rockets were walking about, all of them in uniform.

"Crap, we forgot to change," I said. I looked around, spotted the nearest bathrooms, and pointed them out to Rudy and Darren. Checking to make sure that no one saw us, we made our way over. Several minutes later we walked out, our previous clothes in our backpacks, and now dressed as Rockets.

"So…what do we do now?" I asked stupidly.

"Eh…I dunno, maybe we could ask that guy," Darren said, pointing to the man at the main desk. We walked over.

"Uh…hey, yeah, we're new here and—" Rudy started.

"Registration, first door on the left," he said, not even bothering to look up from the book he was reading.

"Er…okay, thanks," I said, awkwardly as we walked off. I glanced along several doors in the direction that he had pointed and found a door that said "Beginning Member Registration Office, Department head: Agent 2405." I knocked.

"Just a sec!" a voice called out from inside. We waited for about a minute until the door opened and someone whom I was pretty sure was on The Rebellion walked out. We walked inside to see a man in his early thirties with short black hair and dressed in uniform, of course, seated at a desk with a laptop. "You new also?" he asked.

"Yeah," Rudy said.

"I've had to deal with tons of new recruits today…" he muttered before asking, "can I see your ID's?"

I dug through my wallet, retrieved my card, and handed it to him right after Rudy and Darren. The Rocket swiped all three of them, one after another, along a card scanner hooked up to his computer. "Andrew, Patrick, and Aly…all three of you joined on the eighth of December. Were you given a briefing when you joined?"

Stalker had taught us the basic workings of Team Rocket, but I said no anyway.

He rolled his eyes and said, "Nobody ever explains anything anymore…Okay, basically, Team Rocket is divided into a few main groups that determine what members do. There's the Main Operation Division, the Technology Division, the Genetics Division, the Infiltration Division, the Office Division, and then Executives who oversee everything. Almost all beginners end up on the Main Operation Division until they're evaluated and tested to be put on one of the others.

"Also, this is just the office floor; the main floor is downstairs where the commons, snack bar, stadium, other departments, and member rooms are. Typically, only Executives or those in the Office group get rooms, though. For the record, ever since a few months ago, new members can't carry guns. Too many gang retards were shootin' each other. Only members of the Combat Unit get one. And that's pretty much all you need to know now. Do you three train Pokémon?"

"Yeah," Rudy said.

"Okay, as beginners you'll be put under the head of an Executive who either handles Pokémon Trainers or non-trainers. So…" he said focusing on his computer screen and clicking several times, "all three of you'll be under an Executive named Karen. Her agent number is 3835 and she should be in the stadium. If she isn't, you could try her office." He grabbed a pen and quickly wrote something on a sticky note and handed it to Rudy.

"Okay, thanks," I said as we stood and walked out the door. I glanced at the paper the Rocket had given Rudy. "So…we go down some stairs in a hallway and—oh, that's right there."

We had turned a corner and were in a short hallway that ended in a flight of stairs that descended to the main floor. Sounds of numerous conversations reached us from the below level. We stepped down the staircase and I was surprised at the incredible contrast between the two floors.

The main level was huge, for one. We were in the commons, where many of the less professional and most likely lower-ranking members gathered. It was an immense area with a high ceiling and overall loose appearance, like that of some high school hangout. Wide hallways led to the other areas, and there was a section that looked almost like the inside of a fast-food restaurant.

"Whoa, not what I was expecting, but way cool," said Rudy grinning.

"Think we should go find Karen?" I asked.

"Yeah, why not?" Rudy replied.

After looking around for a bit, we quickly found the stadium, which was right in the first hall. It looked almost identical to the one in Midnight Stadium, except that there weren't any audience seats. Several Rockets were training their Pokémon and I noticed almost right away what Stalker had said about Rockets stressing physical strength in their training.

"Hey, is anyone here an Executive named Karen?" Rudy shouted all of a sudden.

A young woman in who looked to be in her early twenties turned from her training and said, "That'd be me." She recalled her Pokémon and walked over. She was fairly tall and had long black hair and a stern expression that seemed to advertise that she was an experienced Rocket. "What do you need?" she asked.

Rudy handed her the paper the Rocket had given him and she read it quickly.

"New members, huh?" she said. "Guess I'll be in charge of you for a while. Let me see your Pokémon."

We each pulled out all of our Poké Balls and released Swift, Firestorm, Ebony, Wartortle, Pikachu, and Ivysaur. I looked at Rudy's Pikachu for the first time; it was weird seeing a normal Pikachu that didn't have long spiky fur. As for Darren's Ivysaur, it was about three feet tall and looked primarily like a small bluish-green, tailless dinosaur with darker blue spots and rough scales. Halfway down its back was a bulb that had opened to reveal a large closed flower bud. Karen looked over our Pokémon for a few seconds noting certain features that indicated their strength.

"Pretty good for being new," she said. "Pokémon Training Rockets are judged mainly on their battling skills. Since this says that you only joined two weeks ago, right now your ranking is near the bottom, but once you're evaluated it'll probably rise quite a bit."

"How's the ranking work?" Darren asked.

"He didn't explain it did he? There are five levels to the ranking. You start out on level five and with a certain number, based on how many others are in that level. With each promotion, the number is lowered until you're on number one, then you'd move to the end of level four. When you get moved to level one, you're an Executive, and if you're on number one, level one, then you're a Commander, but only Johto currently has a Commander. Here, let me see one of your ID's"

Darren had his out first. He handed it to her and she inserted it into a device she pulled out of her pocket. "Your current ranking is K5:2072. The K stands for Kanto Rocket. Often you'll find that your ranking is lowered seemingly for no reason, and it just means that someone else moved in front of you. We keep close tabs on all our members: no one's allowed to quit, and if you try to, the consequences are more severe the higher you are in rank. Anyways, I'll evaluate you guys later today or tomorrow. For now, get used to the way things work around here."

I grinned at Rudy and Darren. So far, everything had gone perfectly. Once we were evaluated, we could begin training as Rockets. Now all that mattered was getting on the Raikou mission.

---

I glanced at the scenery from the back of a pickup truck, the forests slowly blending into chaparral as we continued through the wilderness. The past week had been packed, but it was all well worth it. We had been evaluated the next day and all three of us had risen in rank by over two hundred points. After a hard training session yesterday, I asked Karen about the Raikou mission since neither Rudy nor Darren had wanted to. She explained that it was part of Team Rocket's Legendary Project and, after some persuasion, agreed to let us come on it as our first mission.

I looked back at the long line of similar trucks behind us, some carrying Rockets, others, machinery. "How come there are so many of us on this mission?" I asked.

"November's Entei mission was a fiasco and we had to call for help from the Johto force, which was embarrassing enough seeing as they're stronger than us Kantoans, but on top of it all, some Johto Force kid caught Entei, which didn't make us look good in front of the boss. We've been tracking Raikou for a while now ever since it crossed over into Kanto, and we've set aside a spot up ahead. We're gonna lure it there and then hit it with everything we've got."

I was silent for the next few minutes, staring off at nothing and lost in my thoughts. In a way, I felt sorry for Raikou and only hoped that we'd be able to save it.

The trucks emerged into a clearing that had obviously been stripped of trees recently. Each vehicle stopped around the clearing, making a large half-circle. Rockets began climbing out the trucks, and I did the same. I walked over to where Rudy and Darren were and continued to watch the Rockets' operation in wonder.

Every other truck in the arrangement carried a large piece of silver machinery. Panels opened on the back of each, revealing tall antennas that shot up into the air. Strings of electricity sparked and crackled from the tops before a web of lightning formed itself between all of the mechanisms.

"What's all that for?" I asked Karen, who was standing right next to us.

"Raikou'll be tougher than Entei was. It's able to create force fields with its energy, but if it tries that stunt here, it'll be sorry," she replied coolly.

I leaned over and whispered to Rudy, "I have no idea what we're gonna do about this; we need to meet up with the others on The Rebellion." He nodded, and I proceeded to glance at each of the numerous Rockets. After a while I managed to find the person who had been put somewhat in charge of the active force. I strolled over, trying not to attract any attention and whispered, "Do you have any plans as to how we're gonna stop 'em?"

"I've got some ideas. I've got the Communicator numbers of all the Rebellion members, so I'll text message one person from each mission group and have 'em meet back there in the trees," he replied quietly.

I nodded and walked quickly back to Rudy and Darren. "Come on, over there," I said, motioning toward the trees.

As we separated ourselves from the other Rockets, occasionally I could see a Rocket grab their Communicator, glance around, and then slowly make their way towards us. After several minutes, we had a small crowd huddling back amongst the trees. Soon afterward, the leader of the active force walked over.

"Alright, everyone, it definitely seems like we're gonna have a heck of a time keeping them from catching Raikou," he started.

"What I don't get is why Stalker didn't come with us!" a younger boy yelled.

"He's well known with Team Rocket, people would recognize him," a girl replied.

All at once, everyone began yelling random things involving us failing and being caught by Team Rocket until finally, an older boy standing by the one who had called us there spoke up.

"Shut up, everyone!" he hissed. "We need to be quiet." He shot a glance at the Rockets and continued. "Ryan here was put in charge, he knows what he's doing, so just listen!"

"Thanks, Aaron," Ryan said. He then addressed us, "The only chance we've got is messing up those machines. Stalker already knew that they had invented them, and he told me that all the Rockets are gonna be focusing on using their Pokémon to trap Raikou here. If we can just sabotage the electric force field, Raikou can escape, but we _can't be seen_," he explained. "Alright, let's go back."

We walked back toward the Rockets and merged into the crowd. A little over a minute later, a man shouted through a megaphone, "Get ready. Trainers, at your posts; others, tranquilizers and stun rays ready; technicians, make sure that the Thunder Field's in working order. Operation L:004 begins now!"

I stared off into the distance and saw a small, yellow, glowing, spiky blur racing towards us. When it stopped, I saw that it was a Jolteon, one of the fastest Pokémon ever discovered. "Look out, he's coming! The others are back behind him!" the Jolteon yelled, its fox-like body shaking with exhaustion and its yellow fur standing on end. It turned its head and held its long, rabbit-like ears straight up, listening for something only it could hear. It then fired a burst of electricity into its legs and streaked back in a flash.

I felt a drop of icy cold water on my hand and shivered. It had been so sunny that day that I had almost forgotten it was the middle of winter. I looked up into the sky and saw a thick layer of gray storm clouds covering the sky. Right before my eyes, the clouds thickened and stretched closer to the ground, enveloping the surrounding in an eerie blanket of fog. With a sudden realization, I remembered reading that Raikou had the ability to create thunderclouds. An immense flash of light to the west caught my attention and I looked out at the horizon. Bolts of electricity flew above the trees and were surging closer to us unbelievably quickly. It was right then that the Legendary Johto Beast of Thunder broke through the trees.

A massive saber-toothed tiger seemingly flew over the ground before stopping suddenly in front of us and glaring back at its pursuers. Its gigantic, muscular frame tensed up beneath a thick coat of vibrant golden and black striped fur. It let loose a mighty roar that shook the ground, and all of the Rockets' Pokémon that had chased it here recoiled in terror. Raikou swiveled its neck and stared at the Rockets and us with flaming red-brown eyes that seemed to bore right through one's soul. Everything about its head, from its steely blue whiskers to its midnight black ears and face, gave off an impression of pure power.

After a few seconds of menacing silence, it twitched its stiff, blue, lightning bolt shaped tail and lunged back the way it came, its thick claws kicking up chunks of mud.

"Now! Don't let it escape!" the lead Rocket yelled.

Right that second, the hundreds of Rockets ran toward the opening and released all of their Pokémon in a flash that lit up the whole area. The army of Pokémon stood guarding the only escape from the trap. Raikou shot a look back at the machines and the radiant lightning web strung between them. In an instant, it fired its back legs and lunged between two of the antennas. There was a sickening crack as Raikou's body collided with the force field and fell to the ground with a thud.

It quickly regained itself and stared at the mechanism with a look of pure venom before unleashing a wave of neon yellow lightning from the curled purple mane along its back. The Thunder attack was absorbed by the force field and a wave of white energy surged though Raikou's own lightning back at it. The tiger sprung back, howling in pain and once again turned to the Rockets' Pokémon. It then uttered a low voice in Pokéspeech that was so much like a growl that I couldn't tell whether it was male or female.

"Stand aside," Raikou said. "The humans are to blame for this, but you are not the ones responsible. Do not attempt to defy me."

The Pokémon at the front of the blockade, a large, powerful bear Pokémon, stepped forward. The Ursaring stood onto two legs, held out its claws in an attacking position, and said, "It may be their plan, but we're a part of Team Rocket as well and don't object to it. I, for one, feel as much dedication to taking you down as they do."

Raikou narrowed its eyes slightly and then said finally and menacingly, "Then you all shall fall in pieces!"

It streaked forward in a flash of lightning right into the heart of the defense. The Ursaring opened its mouth wide and unleashed a pulsing beam of energy right at Raikou, who lunged aside in one swift motion and bolted forward. It knocked the bear forward and sank its seven-inch-long fangs into its side. The Ursaring made one last feeble attempt to slash at Raikou, but then shuddered and lay still, blood pouring out from the wound and spilling onto the mud. Raikou lifted its head, its saber-teeth covered in crimson ooze, and glared at the rest of its opposition. The other Pokémon flinched, but at the command of their trainers, rushed forward at the tiger.

All this time I had been watching with such fascination that I had completely forgotten about our mission. I glanced over at the nearest truck, saw a girl on The Rebellion messing with some stuff on the machine, and walked over.

"'Bout time," she said. "I can't figure out what to do with this. There should be a control panel or something, but I can't find it."

I felt along the sides of the machine, looking for anything out of the ordinary, but couldn't find a cover, switch, or other possible way to turn it off.

"Hey, maybe it's inside the truck," I said all of a sudden.

"You're right, I didn't think of that," she said. She walked over to the front and opened the passenger side door. I looked inside and saw a small keyboard with hundreds of other buttons and switches on it. The girl looked over each of the buttons, groaned in frustration, and said, "Couldn't there just be an off switch?"

"Do you think we could just push them all randomly?" I asked.

"Nah, too risky. It could end up making things worse," she replied.

An earsplitting roar filled the air and I looked back at the battle only to gape in horror the second I did. Raikou had just attempted to protect itself from a blazing fire assault, but the antennas had absorbed its force field, and Raikou was drained of power. It slashed wildly at its nearest attacker before jumping out of the fray and struggling to regain itself, but it was exhausted. Numerous gashes and slices covered its body, and its previously yellow fur was now almost completely red from both its own and its enemies' blood. Several tranquilizer darts stuck out of the tiger's skin all over its body and it sank to its knees slowly as the pulsing yellow stun rays from the two trucks on the end completely immobilized it.

I saw a flash of light from the corner of my eye and turned to see Ryan, who had just released his Fearow. The immense bird of prey stood nearly as tall as he did with shaggy brown feathers, a long, pointed beak, and a crown of red horns atop its head. He turned to us and said, "I'm sick of this. If we're ever gonna keep them from capturing any Legendaries, it's gonna be by opposing them outright." He mounted the bird and it took flight, spreading its long, narrow wings to soar low above us, the wind ruffling both its feathers and Ryan's thick brown hair.

"Wait! If the Rockets see you, then you'll never be able to pose as one of them again!" the girl yelled to him.

"What, you don't think I already thought of that?" he said, pulling a black ski mask out of his pocket and slipping it over his head.

I stepped forward and away from the truck and stared upward to see Ryan and Fearow flying high above the antenna in the vehicle to the right of us. Fearow began gathering energy from within itself in the form of a huge glowing orb in its beak. Finally, drained of energy due to using such a powerful attack, it fired the energy as a beam down towards the machine.

It struck the mechanism, igniting the fuel and exploding the entire pickup truck on contact, creating a massive fireball that consumed the antenna and heated up the air tremendously. I shielded my eyes from the bright light and when I looked again, the two antennas on the side were sparking uselessly, unable to channel their electricity over the gap. Flaming debris littered the ground around a huge hole within the Thunder Field.

I turned quickly to see what was happening in the battle and saw Raikou still barely struggling to fend off its attackers. It turned toward the Rockets and I could have sworn I saw unmistakable terror in its face. Several of the Rockets hurled oddly colored Poké Balls at it, but with one final burst of electricity, it drained its last ounce of electricity into blasting away the purple spheres.

"Raikou!" Ryan yelled, pointing down at the opening in the electrical web.

Raikou paused and leaned forward, concentrating hard. At once, it fired a burst of energy into its legs, breaking free of the stun rays with an Extremespeed technique. Although it wasn't nearly as fast as it would have been normally, it was able to clear the range of the stun rays and limp toward the opening.

And then, with a sickening realization, I noticed that I was standing in the gap. It was a very large passage, but rather than simply go around, Raikou came to a halt just ten feet from me. I didn't dare make any move toward or away from it; rather, I just stood, transfixed with fear and fascination. Finally, in a low, clear, masculine voice, Raikou uttered, "Stand aside."

English. He had spoken regular, normal, not-Pokéspeech, English. I was so surprised that it took me several seconds to obey. I backed slowly towards the truck where the other girl was standing, her eyes fixed on Raikou. He nodded slowly to me, drops of blood trickling off his defeated face, before rushing off to the west, back towards Johto from whence he came.

* * *

Claimer: The workings of Team Rocket, as portrayed in LC, is all mine. That's right, all of it: the ID setup, the ranking, the assessments, the divisions, the base setup, the positions, the region forces, the concept of a Supreme Commander, everything. Also, the Thunder Field, contrary to what you might think, is mine. No, it was not inspired by the Crystal System in the Anime Special. I own the fakemon Wallarooby and Verdegon as well. 


	8. The Jewel of Darkness

**Chapter 7: The Jewel of Darkness**

Shaking, I stood, completely unable to move as though my feet had been glued to the terrain. I glanced back at my fellow Rebellion member—she too was staring open-mouthed at where the Beast of Thunder had been.

"Whoa…dude, you are so freakin' lucky he didn't blast you…and did he seriously just speak English?" she asked.

"I…I don't…" was all I managed to get out before I realized that nearly every Rocket on the mission was stampeding towards this point. My mind raced as I quickly came up with an alibi and released Firestorm to go with it. The red lizard emerged in a flash of white light and looked around immediately.

"So…guess I missed the party, huh?" he said with a slight laugh.

"If that's what you want to call it," the girl mumbled under her breath.

"What happened here, why aren't you two in ranks?!" an Executive barked.

I turned quickly to the sound of the voice and saw that most of the Rockets were converging on this spot where Raikou had escaped.

My mind racing, I quickly came up with an excuse and said, "Um, when I saw that this part of the Thunder Field had been destroyed, I ran here to see if I could stop Raikou. She tried to find some way to expand the field to cover the part where the other antenna had been," I added, motioning to the girl still standing by one of the trucks. "Unfortunately Raikou was too fast and there wasn't any way my Charmeleon and I could stop him," I lied. I hadn't hesitated or spoken too fast and the story didn't seem to have any flaws. Though I didn't particularly use it often, I really had a knack for quickly coming up with logical lies. It seemed to work; the Executive swore profusely under his breath, but didn't appear to be angry with us. I would have breathed a sigh of relief were it not the fact that I was still surrounded by Rockets.

"Very well," the Executive finally said. "You, send a report to the boss immediately," he ordered to a subordinate. "Technicians, take down the equipment…everyone else, load into the trucks. We're heading back."

---

"Listen up people!" Ryan called out to us. It wasn't particularly hard to get our attention seeing as nobody was talking. We all were somewhat depressed even though, in a way, we had been successful—we had kept Raikou from being captured, or rather, Ryan had. Even still, it was as though we had failed. For our first mission it had been a bit of a disaster, what with most of us having had no clue what to do and the rest not even getting put on the mission by an Executive. After arriving back at the Rockets' headquarters, those of us who had met up with Ryan had gathered and tried to find the rest of our fellow members. Stalker's Mission Groups had helped in that most people were able to recognize the members in their group, but it was still a pain getting everyone together.

We all now stood outside and to the right of a Pokémon Center—where the nearest bus stop was. All this time, my Team Rocket uniform was in the backpack I had brought with me. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was now past midnight. I then sighed and proceeded to listen to Ryan's announcement.

"In case you didn't already know, Stalker did put me in charge of the active force and while most of you are clueless as to what we should do now, I've got it covered. I doubt the bus will be able to fit all of us, so when it gets here, however many of us can fit will go first and the rest just wait for the next bus. We need to get to Lavender Town because, well…I must admit, Stalker didn't really give me instructions about how to get back, so I just figured we could take a ferry or something," Ryan explained.

Most everyone seemed to think it was a good plan as well. I didn't say anything, but I did remember that the whole reason Stalker had had us take the S.S. Anne was so that we wouldn't attract too much attention. I ignored the thought, however; I didn't feel like objecting.

I heard the sound of a loud engine growing closer and turned to the west to see the bus driving toward us. It was one of those long ones with the flexible middle, and the second I saw it, I knew that we'd all be able to fit on it if we crammed in. It slowed to a stop and we all backed away from it and made a line along the sidewalk. The moment the driver opened the door, everyone began pushing forward, which made it a nightmare to get onto the bus seeing as everyone had to stop and pay. When I finally got onto the bus, most of the back seats were taken, so I sat near the front and attempted to save the two seats next to me.

"No saving seats," a girl said, walking up to me.

"Yeah, well, I am," I retorted.

"Whatever," she said, rolling her eyes and finding another seat.

I had to go through several accusations of seat saving and even had one of the seats taken anyway before Rudy and Darren boarded the bus. Rudy sat down first and said, "Thanks."

"Erm, sorry," I said awkwardly when Darren got there.

"That's okay," he said, standing and holding the bar near us now that all of the seats had been taken.

Once everyone was on board, the driver closed the door and set off. I stared out the window, watching the buildings slowly blend into suburbs, and finally into wilderness. I then lay back and pretended to sleep.

Two hours later, even though I didn't get bored easily, I was sick and tired of the journey. We had boarded two buses that night; the first was from Celadon to Saffron, an immense metropolis situated at the heart of Kanto. The second was from Saffron to the tiny town of Lavender on the coast of the mainland nearest Midnight Island. I could see the peak of a massive tower in the distance and knew we were getting close. I pointed it out to Rudy and he said, "Oh yeah…that's Pokémon Tower, isn't it? Only reason why anyone's even heard of such a nowhere place like Lavender."

I couldn't say I disagreed with him. I, too, was very biased against small towns, which was mainly why I had hated the concept of moving to New Bark. And while cities with zillions of people in them were a bit overkill, I couldn't deny that Celadon and Saffron had fascinated me.

We were now nearing the outskirts of the town, where the fields and sparse trees along the highway slowly blended into the few and far-between houses. The main downtown area could at most be considered suburbs, but the overall appearance of Lavender was that of a relaxed and slow town of which no one knew or cared about. Then, from the edge of the city right along the ocean, Pokémon Tower rose like a citadel above the landscape. It had a ragged and worn appearance and was easily over a hundred feet tall and at least fifty years old.

I noticed that the bus was slowing and the rest of the passengers were standing to their feet, which made it even more crowded than it had been previously because there had already been tons of people packed into the center standing area of the bus. Since we had been near the front, Rudy, Darren, and I were among the first ones off the bus. Right after stepping off the bus, Rudy laughed and said, "Geez, did someone steal the sidewalks?"

I looked around and noticed that he was right—there weren't any sidewalks anywhere. In addition to that, however, I also couldn't see any streetlights or even stoplights. There were just small buildings, fields, and along the sea, a small harbor. I rubbed my hands along my arms and shivered. Short sleeves, the end of December, and a seaside town didn't mix.

The bus's engine revved behind us and I turned to watch the bus pull away slowly. I suddenly remembered Swift and Firestorm, pulled their Poké Balls out of my pocket, and released them. The flash lit up the surrounding as they materialized and caused some people to stare.

"Dang, what time is it?" Firestorm asked, looking up at the overcast sky.

"I dunno, two in the morning or something. I then felt guilty and said instantly, "Did I wake you guys up?"

"Nah, even though when you're in a Poké ball, it seems like you're awake, you're really kind of in a sort of hibernation although your mind is in a virtual reality thing," Firestorm explained.

"Oh, duh," I said stupidly to myself. I knew that. Everyone knew that. "Meh, it's too early, I'm not thinking."

"That's no excuse for not telling what happened with Raikou," Firestorm said, grinning.

"Okay, long story short: most of us were clueless until Ryan broke the force field that was trapping Raikou and freed him," I said.

"Okay…" Firestorm said, not entirely satisfied, but willing to overlook it.

A distant rumble of thunder made me glance up at the sky, which was completely covered with dark clouds. Fortunately, it didn't seem as though there was going to be a storm of any sort.

"Damn," Ryan muttered under his breath, gazing out at the sea to the south. The churning of the water and the peaks of waves could be seen even from where we were. "The storm's already passed by here, but there's no way the ferry can take us to the island."

"So we can't go back tonight?" someone asked.

"Thank God, I'm frickin' tired," another muttered.

"Well whether everyone's happy about it or not, no, there is no way we can get there. Just deal with it, we're staying the night at the nearest Center." He then added under his breath, "If they've even got one in this place."

Most of the group of trainers groaned but followed Ryan. He spoke with his friend for a bit at the front of the group before releasing his Fearow and flying off, most likely to find a Center. I couldn't help wondering how one was supposed to accommodate all of us, but just seconds after he had left, Ryan returned atop his bird.

"It's right up here by the big tower…or at least it was, I mean…ah, never mind, you'll see," he said to us while landing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rudy asked. I gave only a shrug in response, although I too was wondering.

We soon found out that the Pokémon Center wasn't too far from where we had been dropped off downtown. Or at least, as Ryan had said, it had been. Nearly every building within a few hundred yards of Pokémon Tower was destroyed, as though some force had simply knocked them over. A large, angry crowd of people stood at the base of the immense tower, all of them shouting various things. A few kids at the front of the group were the first to run forward, followed soon after by all of us rushing over to find out what had happened.

"People, people, calm down, we'll have everything sorted out in the morning!" a police officer shouted, raising her voice enough to be heard over the crowd. "Right now, Mr. Fuji, the Tower's caretaker, has an announcement to make." She stepped down from a large stool she had been standing on in order to be seen. A rather old man stepped forward, appearing to be in his sixties or seventies and lacking any hair on his head or even a beard. Although physical appearance is no way to judge character, his face just seemed to give off an air of kindness.

"I apologize wholeheartedly that such a thing has happened, and I assure you that it will never happen again. Due to the fact that homes have been knocked over and there is no longer a Center, all residents and travelers are invited to stay in Pokémon Tower until this whole mess is under control," he said.

This seemed to only cause more protest. Many people shouted, nearly all of them exclaiming variations of, "I'm not going in there, those things came from there!"

"I assure you, they normally are very mild mannered and I shall have a talk with them shortly. In the meantime, however, there are no hotels within the city limits and the doors of the tower are always open." He gave a slight bow and walked off.

My first thought was, "Who's 'they' and what the heck happened?" but I was spared the trouble of asking when a young boy on The Rebellion walked forward and asked Mr. Fuji, "Sir, what happened here?"

"I'm afraid I'm not sure what the cause was, but several Gengar from the tower are the ones responsible for this destruction," he explained. "I just wish I knew why…"

That seemed to be all that the boy wanted to know because he then retreated into the crowd once more. We waited in silence for what would happen, but the residents of Lavender were yelling about ghosts, unruly Pokémon, and a load of things that made no sense.

The police officer groaned and pulled out a cell phone, speaking quickly with someone for a minute before pulling out a megaphone and saying, "Look, I've called for several buses, and anyone who wants to will be taken to the Center in the nearest town until we can sort everything out."

Many people were relieved to hear this and calmed down, while many others had run to their demolished houses to retrieve possessions. They were lucky that the houses weren't completely destroyed—most of their belongings most likely had been spared.

Ryan spoke for a bit with his friend before stating, "If we go to some other city, that'll just take longer. We can stay in the Tower tonight and send someone to get Stalker in the morning."

Most of the kids didn't have a problem with that, and I stepped inside the Tower with my fellow members and found that the inside of the structure was considerably warmer than the outside. Pokémon Tower was named for being a resting-place for Pokémon, however there were no graves on the first floor, and no one ventured toward the stairs that led to the home of the Ghost-type Pokémon. Of course, they weren't really ghosts of dead Pokémon, but although they simply bore the supposed characteristics of ghosts and were no different than normal Pokémon, the people of the town seemed to be rather prejudiced against them.

Lights hung from the ceilings, yet the place was still dim and bore a foreboding appearance. Several columns in the middle of the single room had apparently been added recently to help bear the weight of the upper floors. I sat with Swift and Firestorm by the wall in an area to the back where no one had yet settled down. Swift huddled in his feathers while Firestorm curled up with his flame facing the wall so nothing could be burned by it. Rudy and Darren were most likely somewhere else on the Tower's floor, because I couldn't see them.

It was long after everyone else had lain down before I began to feel the slightest bit drowsy. I sighed, checked my watch, and saw by the light of its glow that it was now three in the morning. My mind filled to the brim with thoughts, I finally lay back against the wall and closed my eyes.

--------

Firestorm jolted awake out of what had been a light sleep. He lifted his reptilian head slightly off the cold floor and looked around, drenched in cold sweat. "Return brethren, for the legends have been disturbed." That was what the voice had said. He was almost certain he had heard what he thought he had, but if it were real and not just a dream, then wouldn't others have heard it?

Almost as if in response to his thoughts, several other Pokémon sat up and looked around. Firestorm was not familiar with these Pokémon, but he figured that since The Rebellion's members had been the only traveling trainers in town, that they probably belonged to them.

"Did you hear that?" he asked the nearest, a female Furret. She turned her tawny, ferret-like head and replied, "Sure did." She turned to several of the others and said, "Think we should wake our trainers?"

Firestorm thought fast. He didn't want everyone getting upset over some random voice in the dark. One that, he added to himself, had apparently not even been heard by any of the humans. Thoughts rushed about in his head; he was still uncertain. Finally he said, "I've got an idea. Just…go back to sleep."

The others just shrugged and lay back down, not tired after spending most of the day in their Poké Balls, but not feeling like investigating. Firestorm sat there for several seconds, for some reason wanting to make sure the others were asleep. He turned, still confused about what to do, before finally nudging his trainer to wake her up.

--------

After what felt like about two minutes, I felt a small nudge on my right side. I awoke instantly, being a light sleeper, and turned to see Firestorm by the light of his tail flame. I checked my watch, saw that it was 4:30, and asked, "What is it?"

"I…well…this'll probably sound kinda stupid, but several of the other Pokémon and I heard this voice. I know it wasn't a dream, but I don't really know what it was," he said sheepishly.

"Was it in Pokéspeech or—" I whispered.

"Yeah, it was," he said before I could finish.

I thought about it for several seconds, which was difficult seeing as my brain was still asleep, and finally said, "If you don't know where it came from, then I'm not really sure what I can do. What I don't get is why you heard it and not me, but—" I paused mid-sentence. I strained my ears, almost certain I had heard the faintest bits of conversation.

"Wake Swift up," I said suddenly and firmly.

Firestorm turned and poked Swift lightly on the back. He stirred slightly and ruffled his feathers before looking up at us.

"What?" he asked.

"Listen," I said, "you have the best hearing of the three of us."

Bewildered, he stood completely still. I scarcely breathed as I waited for his response. Concentrating hard, he finally said, "Two humans are talking. One of them's an older man; the other's a boy, teenaged, I'd say. I think there are others with them. Over there." He motioned toward the right of the building.

"Come on," I said, motioning to Swift to perch on my arm as I stood to my feet. Firestorm made efforts to block the light of his tail so it wouldn't awaken anyone as we made our way through the mass of people. Miraculously, I managed to make it through the crowd without stepping on anyone. I glanced along the side of the building, completely lost as to how the voices could have been coming from that direction.

"Footsteps," Swift said suddenly, "they're leading away from here. There's an echo, too, so I'm sure they're not outside."

Yet again bewildered, I began feeling along the side of the wall, not exactly sure what I was searching for but certain I was searching for something. It then occurred to me that while the noises had been behind the wall at this point, the "entrance" to inside the walls could have been anywhere. I glanced throughout the room and my eyes fell on the main counter near the front doors. I slowly walked over to it and looked along the wall feeling it at the same time. This time, my fingers caught a small groove along the surface. I pushed against the surface and found that it slid back an inch or two before stopping. Excited, I pushed against it again, so determined to get inside that I didn't realize that only a small part of the wall had moved. When I observed it further, I found that it slid back behind the main wall, revealing an entrance barely big enough for a medium sized person. I ducked as I stepped inside and walked through the tunnel.

"Whoa, creepy," Firestorm said, apparently enjoying the suspense. The light from his tail lit the way, wavering upon the stony walls as we continued.

"What the…Mr. Fuji!" I yelled, racing ahead. He was lying, bound by ropes and his mouth gagged. I quickly untied the ropes and was about to remove the cloth tied tightly around his mouth when I discovered he was unconscious. I looked past his body, where footprints lay, blatantly disrupting the dusty, otherwise undisturbed floor.

"Wha—what happened here?" Firestorm asked, catching up.

"I don't know, but I think it's time we found out. The Gengar, the voice you heard, the conversation Swift and I heard. Something's going on, and I want to know what," I said resolutely. "You guys with me?"

"Always!" Firestorm exclaimed. Swift nodded.

I got to my feet again and walked forward through the tunnel. The firelight flickered and danced across the walls, illuminating a growing number of mysterious symbols as we walked. I felt my heartbeat increase slightly as I spotted the end of the hallway. A small square was etched into the side; I blew off the dust and read aloud, "Ahead lies the sacred chamber of darkness. Do not enter." Twinges of fear pricked at the back of my mind when I read it, but my curiosity and determination overwhelmed them as I reached for the "handle" to the chamber.

It was obvious that it had been used recently because the stone door slid rather easily. I stepped inside, followed by Firestorm before I closed it. Instantly, a surge of black energy exploded a chunk of rock from the wall to the left of me! I jumped and spun around at the same time: an awkward move which almost made me fall over as I regained myself from the shock.

"Next time he won't miss. Why are you here?" someone demanded.

A small black fox stood lightly on its paws in front of three guys behind him. The first two were about in their late teens and were dressed head to toe in black. The one who has issued the threat however, was a tall, teenaged guy who looked to be a couple years older than me. His skin was a light brown tone and his hair was black and extremely short. He held two or three more Poké Balls in his hands and was apparently waiting for an answer.

"I…er…" What was I supposed to say? It was obvious that I was following them, but it seemed stupid to say that, so I simply remained silent.

"Well?" he asked again. "If you don't answer then I guess we can settle this through our Pokémon."

I had a sudden thought, but wasn't sure whether to say it or not. Finally, I just blurted out, "You're on Team Rocket, aren't you?"

"So you know about us then," he said. "Not surprising, you're on that rebel team, aren't you?"

I gasped slightly and then found myself shouting, "How did you know about it!"

"Jeez, chill," he said. "Actually it's the talk of the Johto Force. Kids being led against the Kanto Rockets. You still haven't told me why you're here, though."

"Why don't you tell me why you're here first," I said, my voice full of fake confidence.

"Come on, Max, we don't have time for this. Why don't you just release all of 'em and—" one of the other Rockets said.

"I'm the Executive, I'll handle this," he muttered before saying to me, "Fine. We've known about this chamber and have been planning on entering it for some time. We planned on doing it yesterday for safety reasons, seeing as the Kanto Force was busy with Raikou. The Gengar caused us some problems, though, and they drove us out. The disruption we caused with the crystal drove them on an insane rampage and we would have gotten in if everyone hadn't showed up again. So, we waited until night."

"Fine, my Pokémon, Firestorm, heard a voice in the night, and then we heard you talking with Mr. Fuji," I said.

"The Haunter," he mumbled. "I knew the Ghost Pokémon would call out for their evolved forms to return. We don't have much time… Let's see how you face against Umbreon."

I hesitated slightly. He had to be extremely skilled to end up an Executive at such a young age. There also were a few more questions I wanted to ask, mainly regarding the crystal he had mentioned. I turned slowly to Swift and Firestorm and said, "Would you guys—"

"We can handle it," Firestorm said, assuming a fighting pose. Swift nodded and flapped to the ground next to Firestorm.

"Alright, then, Firestorm, Flamethrower, Swift, Wing Attack!" I yelled.

Max didn't summon any more Pokémon. Rather, he motioned to his single Umbreon and commanded, "Faint Attack!"

The dark fox leaped forward, the yellow rings on his side glowing, before he completely disappeared from view. Firestorm and Swift hadn't yet charged up their attacks, but they paused when Umbreon vanished and looked back wondering what to do. I thought fast and said, "Swift, get in the air so you can't be hit and then attack Umbreon when he reappears to attack Firestorm!" It was an okay plan except for the fact that it hadn't occurred to me that Umbreon had attacks that didn't require physical contact with the opponent.

In a flash, Umbreon lunged out of the air right at Firestorm. The second he spotted him, Swift swooped forward, his wings glowing with energy. I held my breath, anticipating Umbreon's defeat.

In a split second before hitting Firestorm, the fox pulled out of his jump, landed right in front of him, and turned his head to fire a beam of energy at Swift. It was a planned move—the beam, which had already been charged up, hit Swift squarely on the chest. He cried out and faltered in his flight before struggling to regain himself. Hoping that Umbreon was preoccupied, Firestorm leaped and slashed at the Pokémon, only to find that he wasn't nearly fast enough. The Dark type turned again and fired the same beam at Firestorm, sending him flying back several feet along the ground.

"Crap, I can't think of anything, I could really use some outside ideas right about now," I said to the two.

"I would if I could," Firestorm said flatly. "I know my attacks, but all that tricky stuff is supposed to be up to you," he said, wincing as he stood to his feet.

"What are you talking about?!" I yelled. "You can think just as well as I can, and I'm new to this. Just, uh, I don't know…er, Fire Punch! If you can do it…"

"Not the real one, but, yeah," he said and I soon saw what he meant. Rather than focusing his fire abilities into a flame around his fist, he breathed out a fireball onto his claws and lunged forward at Umbreon. The fox dodged the assault right at the last second, but then was smacked back toward the red lizard. Swift pulled hard out of a dive, his wings glowing after just hitting Umbreon with a Wing Attack. Unable to quickly regain himself, Umbreon was then struck by Firestorm's flaming fist.

"Awesome, you two!" I said in congratulation, although I knew that the battle was far from over.

Umbreon struggled to its feet and crouched defensively, panting and burned on the shoulder, but still able to fight. Max thought for a few seconds and then finally, after some urging from the other two Rockets, recalled the dark fox Pokémon. I raised an eyebrow, perplexed as to why he had done that until he held out three red and white spheres. And I swear my heart just plain jumped the second I saw the contents of the balls.

In Johto, one of three Pokémon was available for new trainers to receive, but he had all three. All three…the words just seemed to be the most awe-inspiring and terrifying phrase around. Before me stood the three evolutions of the Johto starting Pokémon: Meganium, Typhlosion, and Feraligatr. The first creature was an immense, green, long-necked dinosaur with flower petals around its neck. The second was the tan and black fire beast that I already had seen much of during the plane incident. And then there was the third, a tall, bipedal crocodile with massive toothy jaws, leathery blue scales, and large red spikes along its back.

"Team Rocket has its advantages—it was altogether too easy to snag the other two starters. Still want to battle?"

"That's not for me to decide," I said defiantly. I turned to my two Pokémon with a bizarre mixture of panic and concern on my face.

"We can't give up," Swift finally said.

"We're _not_ going to," Firestorm said, clenching his teeth, but looking to be in total dread.

"True, but…well," I stuttered. I wasn't sure what I intended to say, but whatever it was, it didn't come out right. The three opposing Pokémon stood, waiting for mine to make a move. I glanced at Firestorm again, but at that moment, he stood as though frozen. I followed his gaze and noticed something that I hadn't before. Behind the Rockets was a small pedestal, inscribed with more symbols and supporting a stone, black as midnight and shining with an ebony aura. Then, finally and without warning, Firestorm let loose a Flamethrower straight at it. Thinking he was attacking them, the Rockets and the three Pokémon stepped easily out of the way, allowing the column of flame envelop the pedestal, torching the crystal.

"No, what have you done?!" Max yelled, realization hitting him instantly. The second he said that, the three Pokémon roared and fired a pulsing yellow beam of solar energy, a rush of incinerating flame, and an intense torrent of water, respectively. I panicked, pulled the two Poké Balls from my pocket, and recalled my Pokémon. The three assaults struck the wall and exploded on contact, the sheer force easily bursting through the stone chamber.

"Enough!" he yelled and recalled his Pokémon. I glanced back, still confused at what was going on with the crystal. The black stone was now shaking violently, emitting shock waves of light and energy that rebounded off the walls and caused dust and small rocks to continuously fall form the ceiling. Max stared at it, apparently tempted to pick it up, but then decided against it. He then ordered to his subordinates, "Retreat, we couldn't even touch the jewel anyway."

The three Rockets raced away from the crystal and through the opening. I glanced back at the disruption before running after them. I had just gotten through into the passage when the taller of the other two Rockets grabbed me. "No way, you caused all of this and you're gonna pay," he said, throwing me back to the ground into the room and racing after Max and the other Rocket. I winced slightly in pain, but easily overlooked it and jumped to my feet again. One last look at the crystal told me I was too late, however.

Without warning, the stone seemed to explode with black energy. I sprinted toward the opening, fear driving me on, but the rush knocked me off my feet again. The light blocked my vision in total darkness; I cried out at a sudden jolt of pain, still struggling to escape. The black light dimmed and the energy subsided; yet even as I stood, everything went dark.

---

Complete darkness prevailed, even after I had regained consciousness. I slowly opened my eyes and waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness when I realized that they wouldn't; the room was completely lacking of light. I stood to my feet and turned to where I remembered the pedestal had been. I blinked several times—the pedestal was illuminated with an eerie black light: one that didn't light up the entire room and led only to my wondering how on earth light could be black. I took slow, shaking steps toward it and then, without really knowing why, poked the stone. There was no response. I poked it again before noticing tiny inscriptions below it. Squinting at the tiny writing, I read.

Woe to the one who removes the Dark Crystal from its sacred realm, for one must be marked to wield the power that it possesses. From the pact of thirty-three, eight Legendarians, the descendants of the ones that ended the great war, are empowered to protect the legends. They are to search the land without cease, for from the multitude, they must choose eight humans to side with them. But after the eight have accomplished their purpose, a greater legend shall arise with the legacy of the three crystals. The Dark Crystal shall go to the first to see the Dark. The Light Crystal shall go to the first to see the Light. And the Psychic Crystal shall go to the one who unlocks the forgotten past. Though light may be shed upon the keepers beforehand, the true role of the crystals shall only be realized within the rise of the Second Revolution.

I stared at the message, poked the crystal again, and placed it in my pocket. The message had been a warning, there was no doubt about that, but I didn't care if I wasn't supposed to have the stone. I didn't have any dark intentions for it and it would sure be safer with me than just sitting there. I still kept rereading the warning, though, trying to make sense of it. The "pact of thirty-three" was obviously referring to Legendary Pokémon, so eight Legendaries had apparently ended some war and now their descendants were part of a legend. The part about the humans was easy: the eight Legendaries were each supposed to join with a human, but then there also was another legend involving the three crystals. The word "Legendarians" puzzled me, however, and the only thing I could think of was that it could be another name for the Legendary Pokémon. And the Second Revolution? What was so significant about it and why didn't it say anything about a first one? Maybe the first one was actually the war that it mentioned—that was all I could think of.

I walked back towards the hole in the wall, holding the crystal out in front of me to see my way with its bizarre light. I noticed it fading as I got farther away from the chamber, and I also realized that Mr. Fuji had apparently regained consciousness and left, for he was no longer in the passage. By the time I had reached the end of the tunnel and reemerged in Pokémon Tower, the Dark Crystal appeared to be nothing more than a piece of the purest obsidian…obsidian with a world of legend and mystery revolving around it.

* * *

Claimer: The little Poké ball explanation is sort of mine, except that it's somewhat canon (based off of SSBM info). I own Pokémon Tower's secret catacombs, as well as everything they contain: the chamber and the Dark Crystal. And most importantly, the legend, and everything it contains: the trio of crystals, the eight Chosen, the War of the Legends (the one mentioned here as well as a second one) and the first and second Revolutions.

And just for the sake of quelling any assumptions—no, my War of the Legends does not have anything in common with the one in Dragonfree's fic. Just thought I'd say that.


	9. The Dragon Project

**Chapter 8: The Dragon Project**

Although Swift and Firestorm had stayed awake and wandered around after I released them after returning to the tower, I was thoroughly exhausted. It was about 5:15, and though it usually took hours for me to fall asleep, I was out within ten minutes. Then, when I finally woke up for real, it was around ten and most of the residents of Lavender had left, most likely to talk with the police or their insurance companies.

I stood slowly and stretched after I awakened, then picked up the bag with my Team Rocket uniform in it and walked toward the entrance. I couldn't help wondering where Mr. Fuji was and whether he had noticed that the stone was missing. No doubt he had run to the police, although they probably hadn't found much.

I had taken no less than one step outside when I was hit with burst of cold air that sent a chill racing down my spine.

"Holy crap, it's cold," I muttered, glancing up at the sky. It was overcast, but this time the clouds were the purest of white and hovering low above the ground. Though I was usually stubborn about wearing long sleeves or jackets, I reached into my backpack, pulled out the Team Rocket shirt, and put it on inside-out. I groaned, as I probably looked very stupid, but I didn't want to be accused of being a Rocket.

"Jade! Jeez, where have you been?!" Rudy yelled, running toward me. "Stalker showed up like an hour ago and—"

"He did?" I asked suddenly. "How'd he know we were here?"

"Ryan must have flown out early this morning and brought him here. Anyway, he left his Dragonite, Verdegon, and Wallarooby here and flew back to the island," he explained. "Charizard flew back to help after that."

"Where's Swift and Firestorm?" I asked.

"I saw them earlier, I think they're somewhere over there," he said, motioning toward the line of members standing and waiting to mount a Pokémon.

"There still are some people in the tower," I commented. "What if they get left behind?"

"Don't worry about it. Ryan's gonna go last so he can make sure that everyone's gone already," Rudy answered.

"Okay," I said. I walked over to the line and glanced around it, searching for Swift and Firestorm. I found the latter sitting on some rocks near where the kids would board Stalker's winged Pokémon.

"Hey, where's Swift?" I asked, walking over to him.

"Up there," he said, pointing up at the top of the tower. I turned to see that the peak of Pokémon Tower was enveloped in the foggy clouds, but couldn't really see much more than that until a small brown speck dove down from the clouds. It gained speed rapidly as it neared the ground before finally pulling out of the dive and soaring off.

"Hey, Swift!" I called out to him. The speck changed the direction of its flight and sped toward me, appearing less like a speck and more like a hawk as he neared.

"Oh, you're awake," he said. "I was just—"

"That was pretty good," I commented, glancing back at the trainers standing and waiting. "We better get in line."

We strolled over to the line, which was very short seeing as almost everyone had already flown to the island. Rudy and I stood in line for little more than five minutes before we were able to mount a Pokémon. I recalled Firestorm and Swift and climbed up onto the Verdegon's back, noticing that its emerald green scales were rough and coarse as compared to the sleek skin of the Dragonite we had ridden last time. I gripped its shoulders tightly as Rudy climbed on behind me, and the Verdegon glanced back to make sure we were well seated before spreading the wings on its arms and taking to the skies.

Although it wasn't as fast as Dragonite, the wind still rushed past us as we soared over the murky gray sea below. After little more than two minutes, the shores of Midnight Island greeted us from the horizon. Verdegon folded back its wings and descended in a tight spiral, quickly losing speed before throwing its wings out and touching down with its hind legs. Rudy slid off its back first, and I followed while saying, "Thanks," to the Verdegon. It nodded slightly and took off towards Lavender.

I ran almost instinctively to the entrance of Midnight Stadium, desperate to get out of the cold. I threw open the main doors, relieved at the contrast in temperature, and took off the inside-out Team Rocket shirt. Rudy walked in soon after and said, "Dang, I didn't expect it to be so cold."

"Yeah," I agreed. I then said, "What're you gonna do now?"

"Probably go to my room," he said, shrugging. "What about you?"

"Same here. Later," I said, giving a slight wave and strolling toward the east flight of stairs. I ascended the stairs and walked down the hall toward my room, pulling my card key from the cargo pocket it had been riding in. I scanned the card to open the door, set down the bag, and flopped onto the bad, just glad to be home. Home? I stopped and dwelt upon the word. Viridian was home, and yet I was here, with my friends, and doing what I had always wanted to.

Yes, in its own odd sort of way, it was home.

After eating some snacks, I decided to shower, seeing as I hadn't since the night before the mission. Then, after showering and getting dressed in one of the outfits I had bought in Vermilion, I stuck my Poké Balls, wallet, and card key in my pocket and exited the room. At first, I wanted to head to the stadium where Rudy and possibly Darren were, but then I was struck by another thought. My mind wandered back to the Dark Crystal and where it lay in the pocket of the pants I had previously worn. I remembered how Stalker had many books on legends and Legendary Pokémon and figured he would probably know something about it. I jumped two or three steps at time down the stairs and walked quickly down the west hallway, where his office was. I opened the door and peeked inside.

The first thing I noticed was that he wasn't there, and then it occurred to me that he was most likely helping out more trainers in the stadium. I was about to leave, but was gripped by an overwhelming curiosity and slipped inside. The office was the same as before: two chairs, a small desk with a laptop and various other computerized devices, and a mini bookshelf with books on Pokémon Training, legends, and one containing an archive on Pokémon League tournaments. I sat down at the chair facing the computer and quickly skimmed the screen.

Though there wasn't any kind of title, I determined that it was a Team Rocket database of some sort. Along the side was a directory with the different branches of Team Rocket listed. I had a sudden hunch and clicked "Genetics Division." It led to another directory, this time of the projects that the Genetic Division had undertaken. I scrolled down until I found the Experimental Pokémon link and clicked on it. My eyes widened—I had found what I was looking for. I clicked E.P.009 and read the main bio at the top.

Experimental Pokémon #009

Originally deemed to be unsuccessful, 009 has been proven to possess several unique abilities and its unstable makeup is easily overcome by our modified Poké Balls. Although several previous attempts to control it have failed, its Zapdos heritage may prove useful for testing recent Legendary control mechanisms.

So now they were testing him for how to control Legendaries… I stared at the screen almost absentmindedly, focusing on two things: that he was just a piece of lab equipment to them and that they would soon be able to control Legendaries. I shook these thoughts from my mind and browsed the list of experiments, many of which I was unfamiliar with. The first fifteen were hybrids like Chibi and Razors, most of which had either died or were unsuccessful. The next ten were clones, many of them dragons, and the final eleven were enhanced clones, most of them also dragons. The one that snagged my attention the most was the last one, however: Number Thirty-six: Mewtwo.

Experimental Pokémon #036

Perhaps the most successful experiment ever created, 036's mutations have proven to be completely controlled and it is the first of the experiments to have been engineered at such a level as to make it far beyond that of its original, Mew. Although it is currently stabilized, there is some question as to whether it is fully developed or if more testing is required.

Mew? They had cloned Mew? How'd they get its DNA? Brimming with curiosity, I clicked on Mewtwo's database and browsed the files, finally finding one entitled "Operation Mew- L:002—7/5/2018." I was drawn to the documentary like a magnet and was more than a bit disappointed to see that it was only a few pages long. I browsed the pages quickly, concentrating only on the important content.

At a glance, it seemed that the Legendary Pokémon Mew was incredibly difficult to track. The second it had been sighted in a dense forest to the north of Viridian, a specialized squad had been dispatched to capture it. It had escaped with the help of other Legendaries, leaving only a few hairs and blood on the claw of one of the Rocket's Pokémon. Efforts to clone it had been made immediately, and the clone had been engineered specifically to be greater and stronger than Mew, although they had been forced to add human DNA to the mix because the little Mew genetic material they had was lacking.

Fascinated, I continued to read the other sections, although I had to admit I found the ones with endless scientific blather more than a bit boring. I clicked back to the main experiment page and looked into a different file entirely about the clones before I found what I was looking for. I selected a link entitled "The Dragon Project" and read.

"The Dragon Project" was a name that had been given to the creation and training of a large number of dragon experiments. Most of the draconic experiments from the early hybrid series had died due to thin eggshells, so when Team Rocket delved into cloning, they mainly focused on dragons in order to create Dragon-type experiments while avoiding the problems at birth.

"Reading up on stuff?" a voice asked. I looked up quickly, startled to see Stalker standing in the doorway.

"Err, yeah," I said, feeling rather stupid and embarrassed because it had just occurred to me that I had sneaked onto his computer without asking.

He walked forward and glanced at the computer screen before saying, "Interested in the experiments, I see."

"Yeah, kinda," I replied. I remembered why I had come there originally: to ask about the Dark Crystal, but that seemed trivial after what I had read about the experiments. I finally said, "Do you know where they're keeping number 009?"

"The Zapdos-Pikachu?" he said questioningly. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's at a holding facility for the 'failed experiments' in the main Team Rocket base in northeastern Viridian. Why?"

I considered how much I wanted to tell him and said, "I guess I was just interested in the experiments."

"You know," he said, sensing what I was about to ask, "I could always transfer you to the infiltration branch. Quite a few members of the active force don't really seem suited to it, so I could always use more spies."

My thoughts flew back to the Raikou mission and how clueless I had been during that, yet when on the S.S. Anne, I had at least managed to keep my head even though it wasn't planned. But then another thought, stronger than the first two, arose: that Chibi was undergoing the Rockets' torment because he had saved me. There was no need for any more time to consider. I said with resolution, "Yeah, that's what I wanna do."

I gave his chair to him and leaned over, watching the screen as he exited the Internet and opened his main program for The Rebellion.

"How can Team Rocket risk making a site?" I asked curiously.

"It's got ridiculously high security," he said. "You have to get around the firewalls and then enter in around ten passwords that constantly change, then enter in your ID number and finally state your name, so of course someone trying to get in wouldn't know which name corresponded to the numbers. It's pretty hard for the lower-ranking members to get in since no one really cares if they get the hacking codes and password updates or not. Not to mention the fact that it doesn't show up on _any_ search engine."

He clicked through several pages and finally opened the main member page. Stalker browsed the name page quickly, found my name, and brought it up. He scrolled down to the bottom and brought up an edit option. After typing some new commands, he clicked and turned to me. "Okay, everything's set. And really, not many members deal with the experiments. Those that have gone on missions in the past few days have mostly dealt with getting me information on new missions and stuff…things that don't go on the database until after they're carried out," he explained.

I remembered that he said the infiltration force would go on missions whenever it was needed and asked, "So, when would I be able to go?"

"As I said, the infiltration force can go on missions pretty much at anytime," he said.

I had only just gotten back, and never was much of a 'do it now' type person, and yet at that moment I wanted nothing more than to get Chibi back. The thought hit me, however, that there probably were other experiments that were unused and unwanted as well. I didn't care if I had only just gotten back, as the only thing to do on the island was train, and my plan was short and simple.

"I want to go to Viridian now," I said firmly.

"Already?" he asked. "Well, I guess you could, if you really want to. Meet me outside when you're ready and I'll have Charizard out."

"Okay," I said. Seeing that as the end of the conversation, I walked to the door, and exited the office. I ran quickly down the hall and turned left toward the arena, racing through the battlefield until I found Rudy and Darren training with their Ivysaur and Pikachu.

"Hey, you guys," I said, gasping slightly from being out of breath.

"Hey Jade, where've you been?" Rudy asked.

"I was in Stalker's office. But anyways, I wanted to tell you that I transferred to the infiltration force, and I'm going on a mission."

"Already?" Rudy asked. "Jeez, didn't we just get back from a mission we all sucked at?"

"I know, but I don't wanna spend all my time training, and it sounds way easier," I explained.

"Okay, I guess," Rudy said, still entering in things.

I turned and ran back to my room, quickly scanning the key and throwing open the door. My other pants were on the bed, and I dug through the pockets and retrieved my Communicator and the Dark Crystal. I stared at the jet-black stone before slowly placing it in a dresser drawer, somewhere where it would be safe until I figured out what to do with it. It then occurred to me that since the hideout was near Viridian, I would be able to return home for a little while. Though I didn't want my parents to force me to stay home, I grabbed a pencil and notepad from the table so I could at least leave a more detailed note than what Rudy had explained to them.

I took one last glance around the room, picked up the bag with my Rocket uniform, and left. I sprinted back down the stairs while entering in the numbers Stalker, Rudy, and Darren had given me into its call list. With a push of a button, the Communicator turned on and displayed a menu, where other options like call or quick dial could be selected. I rushed out the door and into the cold once more, where Stalker stood, his Charizard ready to go.

"Charizard knows where to go, so he'll fly you right to the base. The main entrance is at the back of the Viridian Gym, similar to the one in Celadon. You should be able to find your way through it fairly easily cause there should be a directory. Just make sure no one sees you or you'll be branded a traitor. And if you're going to openly stand against Team Rocket, then make sure you're in your regular clothes rather than uniform so they think Jade is against them, not 'Aly.'"

And for the third time, I climbed up onto one of Stalker's dragons' backs. With great relief, I felt a continuous waft of warmth emanating from the fire dragon's rough orange scales. I sat down right in front of the wing joint, and as Charizard flapped his immense wings and churned the air with his force, I heard Stalker say, "Contact me when you're done. That's what I had all the others do."

But that was all I could hear, because at that moment, we were off, streaking through the sky to the southeast. Though his wings beat uncomfortably on both sides, I was able to steady the notepad I had brought and wrote. I wrote for most of the flight, trying to make sure that I would reassure my parents and not reveal where I was at the same time. I wasn't entirely sure how much Rudy had told them, although I did know that he hadn't explained the Team Rocket mess, which was good seeing as I wrote that I had run away to train Pokémon in the letter.

With a slight grin, I looked out suddenly and saw the outskirts of Viridian in the distance, greeting me like some long-lost friend. As Charizard folded back his wings for a descent into an area northeast of it, I leaned forward and said, "Um, can I really quickly drop something off at my house…it's really close, to the north and I can lead you to it."

"I suppose," said the Charizard gruffly.

After me muttering several directions in his ear, Charizard finally touched down onto the cool, green grass of my front yard. I dismounted him and raced forward to the front door left of the garage. I placed the note on the cement, with a side of it under the doormat and rang the doorbell. With one slight glance back at the house that I had known and loved since I was four, I rushed to the dragon and leaped up onto his back with a single bound. As we ascended again and continued on, I looked back down to see my sister opening the door and bending forward to pick up the note. I grinned as Charizard and I took off for the hideout, me feeling much more satisfied.

We landed in front of a large building on the northeast side of town. I had never been to the Viridian Gym, but I knew the area we were in. After disembarking, I called out, "Thanks for the ride," as Charizard flapped into the air to return to Midnight Island.

I stepped into the alley to the side of the gym and walked to the back where, just as there had been in Celadon, a heavy door and keypad greeted me. I extracted my ID card from my wallet and scanned it. The door, which seemed to be harder to get into without a card than the one in Celadon, beeped and then promptly slid open. I stepped inside the building and it closed behind me with a thud.

There was no one around, and I took that opportunity to pull my Rocket uniform on top of my normal clothes and stuff the plastic bag in my pocket. I glanced around the dingy back room, which looked on the outside to be nothing more than a storage closet at the back of the gym. Making my way around several crates, I walked toward a staircase on the far wall, but couldn't help having my attention grabbed by some of the contents.

Badges. A box on the top was filled to the brim with hundreds of shiny green Earth Badges, the award presented to whomever could defeat Giovanni in an official gym battle. I picked one up and fingered it, feeling an odd sense of temptation. Finally, I couldn't stand it. I pocketed the badge and strolled to the door.

Sprinting quickly down the stairs, I was required to card scan one more time before emerging into the main Team Rocket base. It was immense, yet at the same time not much different than the Celadon one, with the main commons being the primary gathering and the other hallways leading on to other areas. I tried not to attract attention, but the realized, of course, that I was practically invisible. I was in uniform; there was nothing conspicuous about me. Feeling slightly stupid at my own thoughts, I strode over to the directory.

Unlike the other base, this one had the offices as well as everything else on the same floor. The divisions and hallways all branched off in different directions from the area I was in, and it took me a while to find the experimental division. I turned to see where the hallway that led to it would be and saw that it was the third one on the left. Pulling my attention away from the board, I headed for the hallway.

It was painted a pale and gloomy color, like the walls of some dreary hospital only with wires and glowing panels lining the corridor. As compared to the bustle of people in the commons, the scientific branch seemed to be an unappealing place to hang around in. I glanced in through the doors, seeing only the occasional scientist working in either a lab or office. I was nearing the end of the corridor. There were stairs.

Stepping lightly to not create echoing off the concrete walls, I continued past the short staircase and down a long, unpainted hallway with a single doorway at the end. Almost unintentionally, I quickened my pace, feeling a slight burst of anxiety as I neared the room I was looking for. Upon my nearing, the door slid open.

In stark contrast to the blank, pale walls of the hall, the room was dark and lined with computerized devices and machinery. I glanced around at the equipment, noticing several large test tubes that looked as though they hadn't been used in a very long time, and I figured that it was an old lab for creating experiments. In the middle was a large central computer panel in the wall that was hooked up to all the machinery with hundreds of wires, like the brain of the room. I wondered whether there was any information on the experiments that hadn't been recorded on the main online database. Unsure of what to do now that I was here, I pushed the main button to turn on the computer.

At once, hundreds of tiny lights illuminated to signify the stirring of the forgotten technology, and the screen burst into dazzling light that brightened the surrounding. I sat down at the desk and, after waiting mere seconds for it to completely load onto the main desktop screen, I surveyed the icons in confusion, having no idea what to click on. Everything was listed and named according to coding, so I moved my finger along the sensor pad on the desk and selected one. A window opened to reveal a seemingly endless list of symbols and characters that made no sense whatsoever. I muttered, "Computer language," under my breath, closed the file, and proceeded to examine the others.

The fourth one was the first to be in normal English, but it wasn't what I was looking for and it wasn't until the seventh that I found one on the experiments. I scrolled through the list immediately to see the file on 009 so I tapped to select it, picked 'current status,' and read. Within just a few paragraphs, I could tell that I wasn't in the right area where Chibi was. I had checked the map carefully, wasn't this the right place…? I then figured it out. This was the old lab and Experiment Containment Facility, but Chibi was held in the Legendary Control Testing Branch. Even still, I wanted to see what other experiments were held here.

I got out of the chair and surveyed the room again, noticing, for the first time, a heavy metal door covering most of the main wall. I approached it slowly, seeing that it had only a keypad, but no card scanner. As for the codes, I figured that Stalker would have them. Pulling my Communicator from my pocket, I intended to call him, but then stopped. A text message? I selected the message that I had apparently received sometime earlier and read.

"Hey, Jade, I was gonna tell you these earlier, but I thought you might forget them. It's standard procedure with being on the infiltration force, and you'll probably find the following codes useful." I grinned. Again, Stalker proved to be one step ahead of his teammates. I perused the long at the bottom of his message and found the code for the Experiment Containment Facility. After I entered in the ten-character combination, the door opened.

Dull concrete made up the walls, floor, and ceiling of the room I entered, save for a small area of the floor that was tinted a sickening red. A computerized control panel hung on the wall to the left, and looking up ahead of me, I saw a row of cells along the wall with thick, force field-lined metal bars. The two in front of me were inhabited by a single Pokémon each.

The first was a large green dragon, streamlined and lanky with small, clawed forelegs, and padded hind legs. Its diamond-shaped wings were thin, and red lenses covered its eyes in a way that made its face look vaguely like an insect's.

The second was snowy white and rather wolfish except for a dark face that was distinctly feline in appearance. A sleek mane covered its chest, and the top of its head was hard and curved like the yin yang symbol with a black blade thrusting upward from the left.

Both stirred and looked up at me, faint acceptance and failure streaking their expressions. "Already?" muttered the dragon.

Feeling as though they knew something I didn't, I asked the Flygon, "Already what?"

"So you know Pokéspeech…" he said, his voice clearly young and male. He turned his long neck to stare at me, the two dark green spikes on his head swaying slightly. "You're not the one from The Room, all of them are scientists or handlers…what do you want?"

"What room?" I asked curiously.

"Okay…now you're definitely not an experiment handler. My question first…what's some other Rocket like you doing here?" the Flygon asked forcefully.

"Let's just say I'm not exactly supposed to be here, I'm not even really on Team Rocket," wondering how much to tell him, but then figuring that he wouldn't be likely to repeat what I told him.

"You'd have to be to be able to get in the base," he said flatly.

"Okay, fine, I'm on another team, but I'm undercover as a Rocket. Happy?" I said, annoyed.

"Figured you were an outsider in some way. The other scientists will be coming soon, and if you value your life, you won't let them know you're in a restricted area," the verdant dragon advised.

"Please, I have a few questions first…what room were you talking about?"

It was the other Pokémon who answered. It turned its dark blue, cat-like face to me and said, "_The _Room. The cursed room which all of us must face at one time or another. The pit of despair in which all experiments must endure."

Adding on to her response, the Flygon said, "We live out our young lives in training and regulation until finally, when they feel we have learned all skill knowledge that is possible, they seal off our minds and command our every move. They leave us trapped within our own mind as our bodies are led by instinct and control. They do it to perfect battling strength and performance to not let emotion interfere, but mostly, they do it for ultimate dominion over us."

I had only wanted to know what the room was, not have them pour out their thoughts to leave me feeling pity toward them. I asked, "Why…why are you telling me all this?"

"It doesn't matter if we do, as you're against them as well and we'll be going soon…" the Flygon explained. "They did it with all the others and now it's our turn."

"You mean they did it to Chibi?" I asked frantically, wanting answers now more than ever.

The Absol cocked an eyebrow. "How do you know about him?"

"I met him once, he stayed with me for awhile…what can you tell me about him?" I inquired.

"Why don't you ask the one who'd know better than any of us…" the Absol said coldly, nodding her head toward a cell to the far right. I looked over and saw that there was an experiment in that one as well, and it wasn't one I was unfamiliar with…

It was tall and green, looking primarily like a praying mantis with thick plates of armor and scythes where arms would be. The enhanced Scyther turned to look at me, and I noticed something extremely different about Razors's expression.

He had one. His eyes were no longer blank and pupil-less with the look of some deranged animal, but rather like that of some soldier who had fought many battles and lost every one. He hesitated very slightly in surprise, the recognition hitting him within seconds.

"Well, if it isn't Chibi's rescuer and abandoner," he said spitefully. And then, with as much cruel sarcasm as he could muster, he muttered, "Come to deem the rest of us worthy of your _noble services_?"

* * *

Claimer: More experiment details—all mine…the hybrid series, the clone series, the super-clone series, _and the fact that Mewtwo is the thirty-sixth experiment in a long project_, as opposed to his typical canon backstory. Team Rocket's website setup is mine, as well as the whole layout of the Viridian base—the eight hallways and their contents. I also own "The Room" as well as any specifics about the Experiment control technology. 


	10. Double Agents

**Chapter 9: Double Agents**

"What the crap are you talking about?! I didn't abandon him, and what do you mean, 'deem the rest of you worthy'?" I shouted.

"I'm going by the fact that he was with you, and now he's back being tested on," Razors shot back. "And I mean, did you ever consider, when you took Chibi with you, that there were others of us here…others that would give anything to have five minutes of freedom? Being here does things to you…why do you think Chibi was so suicidal that day? I bet his personality took a 180-degree turn after he had been away for a while, right?"

I had to admit that I really hadn't considered much about the other experiments and, until now, hadn't really thought of Razors as a person. I said slowly, "No…I didn't…" I then had a sudden thought, though. "But what about you? How come you're not like you were back then?"

"Because the controlling technology only works temporarily. It completely overwhelms all free will and even our thoughts, but since it would be too impractical to have a machine keeping a constant hold over our mind, it's made so that they just run it once and everything's set for a while. When we're being used, they update it often, but I'm pretty much unneeded at this point," he explained.

"Oh…" I said, awkwardly, not really sure if he meant that that was bad or good. "But you still haven't answered my question…did they do it to Chibi or not?"

"Somewhat…the regular process doesn't work for him…even Tyson commented to you that he couldn't control Chibi. That's why they've been running all sorts of procedures on him, using him to test all of their prototype Legendary control devices on. As far as I know, none of them have proven completely able to suppress the will of such mighty beasts…but they have taken a hell of a toll on his sanity," he said, almost accusingly in his voice.

"Look, it's not my fault, he told me to get out of there and—" I stopped, seeing as my excuse made no sense without the background story of what happened on the S.S. Anne. With a sigh, I continued, "I'm on a mission to mess up Team Rocket's plans with the experiments. But most of all, they can't be allowed to learn how to control Legendaries."

Razors paused, as though heavily considering his words before saying, "Well…I know where Chibi is, as well as where all of the research is done on Legendaries…"

"Where?" I asked frantically.

"In a complicated maze of hallways so far from here that it would be pointless to try to give directions," Razors said flatly. He paused again. "However…the three of us could show you…"

I stared. He expected me to let the three of them loose? My eyes almost unintentionally ran along Razors's scythe lined arms and then it occurred to me that the other two were just as dangerous, if not more. If they really wanted to, they could have me dead within seconds if I opened their cells. But did they want to? No longer controlled by Team Rocket, did they have any reason to? Did they _need_ a reason?

Thoroughly boggled, I reached slowly for the Poké Balls in my pocket, but then realized that Swift and Firestorm would be able to little against the experiments if they did decide to attack. Even still… I pulled the two spheres from my pocket and opened them. The beams of white light took the form of the red lizard and brown hawk, both of which quickly surveyed the surrounding in surprise.

"So, uh…what'd we miss?" Firestorm asked with a nervous grin.

I lowered my voice slightly and said, "Basically, they know where Chibi's being held and where Team Rocket is testing to control Legendaries. But they 'can't' tell me where; they want me to let them lead me there."

"You've got to be kidding…" Firestorm said flatly.

"Wait…Razors was under Tyson's control on the plane, and the Absol and Flygon have never given any reason not to be trusted," I explained.

Swift shrugged. "She has a point."

"Yeah, but…" Firestorm said desperately, with a look as though the two of us were total idiots. "How do we know he's not secretly under their control now?"

"Being under the Rockets' control doesn't exactly leave one sane enough to hold a conversation," I retorted.

Swift then finally commented, "How do we know he was even under control on the plane?"

I turned to him, and he looked as though he'd rather have not voiced his thoughts. I had to admit to myself, that I really didn't know. What if Razors's actions during that incident had been of his own will? No…they couldn't have been. I racked my brain for memories of that day and said, "We know he was because Tyson said so…Tyson specifically said that Chibi was the only one not under his control."

Swift nodded in agreement and seemed to be satisfied. Firestorm slowly said, "But who's to say that the three of them can be trusted?"

"No one," I admitted awkwardly.

"I rest my case," Firestorm said with a tone of finality.

I heard the crackle of electricity and looked up from Firestorm to see the experiments' cells deactivating. The force fields lining the cells sparked and died. My eyes widened and I couldn't help feeling a sudden twinge of fear as the Absol and Flygon stood calmly, pushed open the doors to their cells, and walked out the open door to the containment room. I shot a glance back at Firestorm and…Swift, where was Swift?

As Razors lightly tapped his cell's door forward with his left scythe, he glanced wordlessly at Firestorm and me before following the other two. Then, with a flutter of wings, Swift flew down from the control panel and after him. I exchanged surprised looks with Firestorm before finally walking out with him.

A light was flashing in the control room, the source being the computer. The four Pokémon were all gathered around it, the three experiments looking concerned.

"We have to get out of here now or there's gonna be a hell of a lot of trouble," Flygon said.

I quickly skimmed the screen, the flashing words at the bottom grabbing my attention: "Unauthorized data access and experimental containment deactivation."

"They know we're here?!" I exclaimed frantically.

"Yes. You should have foreseen the consequences before you came here," Absol said curtly.

"Come on," Razors said. And with that, he raced off through the doorway and into the blank hallway, followed quickly by the other two experiments. With a confused shrug, I ran after them with Swift and Firestorm.

Sprinting down the eerie, white hallway, I noticed flashing red lights along the ceiling that I hadn't before. The sudden thought hit me that if any Rockets saw me, then I never would be able to pretend to be one of them again. While running, I pulled my Team Rocket shirt off over my regular one and then, struggling to keep from tripping, slipped the black pants off of my jeans. When I finally pulled the ends over my shoes, I stumbled once, got my balance back, and raced up the stairs and after the Pokémon far ahead of me.

"There they are, kill them now, but don't hit our experiments or Tyson'll have your heads!" a Rocket shouted.

I looked up and saw a team of Rockets far ahead, but racing toward us. I knew they couldn't shoot because Razors, Absol, and Flygon were in front of us, but as they neared, I saw that they had tranquilizer guns and stun rays. And if the three experiments fell, Swift, Firestorm, and I were done for.

"Detour!" Razors shouted suddenly, coming to a halt and redirecting us into a room to the left. As I was the last to follow, I could hear the whizzing of bullets even after I was safely out of the line of fire. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest with a combination of a growing lack of breath, adrenaline rush, and a burst of terror. I glanced back over my shoulder, afraid that I would see the Rockets ready to shoot again, but they hadn't gotten to the doorway yet, and I was seriously thankful for that.

Now falling far behind the Pokémon in front of me, I compelled my legs to run faster and simultaneously ducked around tables and large tubes in an attempt to keep up.

"Aros, we need a Hyper beam here!" Razors announced, and when I looked past him, I could see that we were nearing a wall that he apparently didn't intend on going around.

The Flygon, who apparently was named Aros, slowed his flight for a few seconds, concentrating hard on powering up a small glowing ball forming in his mouth. Finally, the emerald dragon fired it forward in a pulsing orange beam at the wall. It collided and instantly exploded the obstacle into chunks of concrete and plaster.

"Where in the heck are we now?!" I yelled while jumping through the hole and into another, darker hallway. Still far behind the others, I kept running past many confused Rockets who jumped out of the way in surprise.

"Passage 4-C, section a, Operation Division," Razors announced. I didn't bother asking, but I really had no idea whatsoever what that was supposed to mean.

Sensing my bewildered silence, the Absol rolled her eyes and said, "As in one hallway away from 5-Db, in the Technology Division." Apparently they all assumed I had been here before, although I had enough sense to at least guess that the five d whatever was where we were trying to get to.

The three Pokémon turned into a doorway to the right, soon followed by Swift, Firestorm, and then me. We dashed past counters and offices, oblivious to the yelling and pandemonium we were causing. Now nearing the far wall, Razors said, "Okay, no way to go around, so we'll need a Razor Wind, Stygian!"

Stygian—the Absol—jumped ahead of Razors and swung her head sharply to the left. The obsidian blade along the side of the cat's head glowed and released a crescent-shaped disk of destructive wind that collided with the wall, shattering it into miniscule shards. They bolted through and—

"Hold it right there!" a Rocket officer yelled, running forward and pointing a gun at us. Several others rushed up behind him, each of them armed.

Razors let out a cry and streaked forward, nearly invisible. In less than a second, the Scyther had swung his right arm forward and smacked the guard with the flat of his blade before rushing in a blur to knock out the others. The Rockets slumped to the tile floor, unconscious.

"We're close, come on," he said, panting hard and glancing along the wall.

Firestorm, Swift, and I followed in silence, until finally, Razors turned to a doorway on the right. "Here," he said.

"Why'd we have to bust though all those walls back there?" I asked, walking forward toward the gleaming metal door.

"Would you rather we have gone through the commons to get here?" Stygian muttered rhetorically.

I was beginning to think that they found me very dense.

The door was locked and refused to open with the push of a button. I retrieved the Communicator from my pocket and turned it on, referring to Stalker's message again. About two-thirds down was the code I needed, and after replacing the device in my pocket, I pushed the buttons on the keypad and unlocked the door.

The room was dark, but seeing as the ceiling was lined with fluorescent light panels, that probably was only because no one was supposed to be in it at the moment. There was yet another main computer that I didn't dare touch and hundreds of bizarre machines that filled the space.

I flipped the light switch on and, after the five Pokémon had entered, closed the door behind us. I slowly glanced around at the numerous mechanisms and all their parts, wires, and cords everywhere, not having a clue what they did, but having a feeling that they all had a common purpose: to control Legendaries.

"We've never been here before, we just knew where it was," Aros explained. He turned his green, draconic head back to the door and said, "They'll be coming soon. Find Chibi and get out of here, quick. We've got more things to take care of."

But exactly where was he supposed to be? I looked around through the maze of wires, but could seem to figure out where he would be.

"Uhh…that's the _old_ equipment…don't you know what you're doing?" Stygian asked.

No, I really had no idea, but I wasn't about to admit something like that. I glanced over into the left corner to see another machine, this one less dilapidated looking and having its cords all attached to the wall and various power sources. To the side, in the middle of a small chamber, a black Poké Ball was hooked up to the mechanism. I reached inside, detached it from the wires, and grabbed it.

"Where are we going now?" I asked.

"_We_ are going to find the officials in possession of the other experiments and free them. I doubt we will be in need of either your or their services any longer," Razors explained, nodding toward Swift and Firestorm, the latter looking offended by his words. He glanced at the sphere I was holding before saying, "You might want to let him out now. We're running out of time."

I didn't quite get what he meant. "But…I was hoping I could take him with me."

All three experiments eyed me suspiciously, mainly Razors. Finally, he said slowly, "After what happened last time…"—he paused—"…do you think we would allow his fate to rest with you when he would only wind up back here?"

"For the last time, it wasn't my fault!" I shouted, thoroughly annoyed.

"Watch that tone, human," Aros muttered threateningly. "Continue."

"He told me to go. He knew that if the Rockets caught me, they'd kill me, that's why he stayed behind and let himself be caught," I explained.

Being stared at by all of them was beginning to feel very unnerving, and I was relieved when Razors broke the menacing silence to say, "I must admit…even I noticed how being away from here restored his sanity. And though that was nothing special of your doing, but rather simply having a break from this hell of a life here…at this point I know only of the humans in the Genetic Division. I know there are many others who have higher opinions of us, but as you are the first I have been able to meet, and as you seem to value his life, then…"—he turned and walked away slowly with the others—"tell him that a forgotten friend says farewell."

At once, the three experiments raced off down the hallway.

I watched them until they had disappeared from view, and couldn't help feeling relieved that now the Rockets would be concentrating their attention on them, therefore leaving Firestorm, Swift, and I free to escape unnoticed. I turned slowly to the black Poké Ball and, slightly afraid of what I would find, pushed the white button on the front.

A burst of black light surged from the opened ball and slowly took the shape of a small, yet larger than average yellow mouse Pokémon. As the light quickly formed into muscle and spiky golden fur, I looked on at Chibi's very delayed reaction.

"Chibi?" I asked, seeing as the creature hadn't moved yet. He turned slowly, his eyes dull and distant, not like the blank soulless look that Razors once bore, but rather looking like he was severely drunk.

"Hello, say something," I said, growing slowly more concerned.

Finally, as though only just noticing us, he said, "Yeah…Chibi…that's me."

I groaned. What was up? He even was acting like he was drunk. I kneeled and said, "Snap out of it, you're not on the machine anymore."

Dismayed, I looked up at Firestorm and Swift. Swift looked as though he was heavily considering something, but Firestorm, on the other hand, walked forward and simply poked Chibi with his red, flame-colored lizard tail.

"Pika!" Chibi yelled, jumping away from the flame and wincing as he stroked his scorched fur. Looking as though he had just been jolted out a trance, he said suddenly, "You…it's you, that Charmander that evolved on the boat and…" He turned quickly to me and collapsed against my knee, mumbling, "It's all three of you…you came back…how did you get here…what happened…?" He looked up, tears of anger streaming down his face and cried, "I didn't want to, but they made me…I couldn't fight it and they did it and now everything's over…" He buried his face against my pants and continuously muttered, "It's all over…"

I looked up at Firestorm and Swift with a sort of confused and "help" look on my face before turning back to Chibi and attempting to comfort him despite that I had no idea what the heck he was talking about.

"Err…it's okay…what happened, what did they do?" I asked.

"They figured it out…and it's all my fault, I could have fought harder, but they figured it out and now nothing can stop it. Those machines…the last one…it didn't work, but they figured it out…"

"Figured what out?!" I couldn't help yelling.

"The Legendaries!" he hissed. "They're all done for and if they fall, nothing can stop them…"

"You mean…" I said, attempting to piece together his frantic ranting, "they can do it…they can control Legendaries now?"

He stood shaking, his fur quivering as he clenched his fists in sheer rage toward himself and said, "Yes. And at the worst time imaginable. Mewtwo will awaken soon and—"

After hearing that, I couldn't help but bombard him with questions. "Wait, you know about Mewtwo, where is it, it's asleep?"

"Hey, you!" I heard a voice yell.

I looked up quickly from him to see a girl running down the hallway toward me. I stood quickly to my feet and frantically wondered if she was armed, before turning behind me and remembering that the hallway was a dead end.

"You're that kid that everyone saw take the experiments," she said, stopping in front of me.

Despite my panic, I couldn't help but find it odd that she was calling me a kid, as she was clearly about a year younger than me and shorter as well. She had fairly long blonde hair, blue eyes, and her Rocket uniform was different than the others, with dark jeans and the Rocket shirt short-sleeved and un-tucked.

Oh, that was it; she had to be an Executive. I remembered Stalker once mentioning that they had more freedom with their uniform than the regular Grunts. But if she was an Executive, then I was pretty much done for.

Sensing my silent panic, she said, "I'm not armed, I'm not into that sort of thing, but let's see you stand a chance against this!" She quickly pulled out a red and white sphere and opened it to release a large, bipedal green lizard with darker verdant spikes along its head and tail. It glared at my Pokémon and hissed, "Vohhhh," menacingly.

"Uh, er, Firestorm, Flamethrower!" I yelled suddenly, taking that as the start of the battle.

I strained my mind for memories of any information on the green lizard Pokémon, but came up with nothing, not even its name. Firestorm rushed forward regardless of my clueless-ness and breathed out a lick of white-hot flame. The green lizard lunged out of the way and smacked him with its tail, the spikes leaving spots of blood on his arm.

"Vogra, use Razor Leaf!" she commanded.

So its name was Vogra… It jumped up and swung its tail around, unleashing a flurry of razor-sharp leaves. Instinctively, Firestorm attempted to flame them but was slashed in several places before he was able to. He glared at the other lizard, small drips of blood leaking from the slices on his face.

"Firestorm, erm, yeah, use Slash or something; Swift, Gust and—" I started.

To my surprise, before I could finish giving instructions, Vogra lunged on all fours past Firestorm and smacked Swift into the wall just as he had took flight.

"If you wanna use all three Pokémon, then I'll use all five." When I didn't respond, she yelled, "Leaf Blade!"

Vogra jumped back at Firestorm and was just about to slash him with its tail, but Firestorm managed to leap to the side and sliced Vogra's tail with his claws. Vogra glared venomously at Firestorm while clutching its bleeding tail. It then swung its head and let loose another rush of leaves. Firestorm turned back toward Vogra right at the wrong time and was sliced along the face numerous times yet again.

"That's it," Firestorm yelled, breathing in deeply and blasting out a burst of star shaped flame at Vogra.

"No, wait!" I yelled. We hadn't practiced at all with Fire Blast and random power attacks wasn't gonna win it. Didn't he realize that?

Vogra jumped aside in one swift motion, easily dodging the weak, uncontrolled inferno, which blasted into the wall. It turned back and was about to dart forward for another attack when it was suddenly swept back by a gale of wind that lifted it off the ground and swirled the reptile around in its force before slamming it into the ground. Seizing the opportunity, I yelled, "Firestorm, Slash!"

Firestorm lunged at his opponent and brandished his claws, slashing the lizard along the back.

"Vogra, return," the Rocket Executive said, recalling her Pokémon into its ball in a beam of red light. I grinned at our victory, but right then, Firestorm dropped suddenly to all fours, shaking and struggling just to keep from collapsing.

"Vogra's tail spikes are venomous," she explained, smirking. I recalled Firestorm and watched as Swift slowly limped toward me, still tired from his last-minute Gust attack and injured from his impact with the wall.

I clenched my fists. Was Chibi in any condition to battle? Even still, she had four more Pokémon and Chibi wasn't exactly himself enough yet to be able to strategically beat her. That, and my so-called strategy of random attacks was a joke.

"Ready to listen?" she asked.

I stared. Hadn't she been to one to start the battle? Regardless, I answered, "Whatever…"

"The name's Stracion, and while it's obvious you're not on Team Rocket, I know you're one of the ones against us from the inside."

I tried not to show my surprise, but really, I couldn't help but notice how well known our team was beginning to get.

"I figured it's supposed to be secret," she continued, "but honestly…rumors of a rebel team turn up and them after its 'destruction', we wind up with non-members in headquarters and perfectly planned missions screwed up. I don't know what happened on the S.S. Anne, but obviously those idiots didn't do it right."

She looked at me as though wanting to see my reaction, and though I tried desperately, I could help but let a sliver of surprised concern leak out.

As if that wasn't enough, she added, "But by now, everyone here knows that much. _I_, on the other hand, know that the ship wasn't going to Cinnabar. Everyone may have thought that, but I know it was going to Midnight."

That was too much. She knew. _She knew_! The Rebellion was done for. Our base would be attacked, Stalker would be found out, and there was nothing I could do about it.

"_But_…only I know, and that's how it's going to stay unless the others find out as well," she concluded.

I gaped at her in bizarre confusion. First she freaked me out by figuring out everything and then she didn't plan on doing anything about it? What kind of Executive was she? "Explain. You've lost me."

Stracion grinned and said, "Let's just say we've got a few common intentions. I'm not exactly satisfied with the way things are run here, and I don't care if you guys mess with the higher Executives' and the boss's heads. I guess you could say we're both double agents."

"Wait, wait, wait…" I said. "You're saying you're somewhat against Team Rocket too? Then why are you on it and how are you an Executive?"

She sighed. "I joined it after catching a lot of powerful Pokémon and found myself rising in rank fast with each mission. I liked the power, but the whole ultimate conquest thing was a bit overboard for me."

An Executive who was against Team Rocket's main goal? I couldn't help feeling that she could be a big help to us in the future. To confirm my thoughts, I asked, "So you'd be willing to help me and the others on our team?"

"To a certain extent, yes. Not anything that would destroy a base or something like that. I know a lot of others here who are also against Giovanni's main dream, but yeah. I'm guessing you were sent to do something with the experiments. It _was_ you who freed them, right?" she asked. I nodded. "Figured. I don't know much about the Technology Division, but I think they already made serious progress using 009 on all their machines."

"Yeah, Chibi told me," I said, glancing back at him standing at my side.

"Is that his name? You took Pokéspeech, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Me too, but anyways, we have to get out of here. A big search has been ordered and even though everyone's chasing after the other three, sooner or later they'll come back to hunt you down."

"Wait," I said, suddenly struck by a thought. "Mewtwo…where is it, do they have complete control over—"

"It hasn't even gained consciousness yet, they're still running all sorts of tests on it to make sure it's ready, but yeah… it'll also be under their control."

"But it's as strong as a Legendary!" I exclaimed. "Where is it?"

A small beep sounded from Stracion's pocket and she pulled out her Rocket Communicator. "I gotta go. It's back in the Genetics Division, if you can somehow find your way back, it should be just one subsection up from where the experiments were," she said, racing back down the hallway.

I turned cluelessly back to Chibi. He smirked and said, "I'll lead you there, follow me and put your uniform back on."

After pulling the black Rocket clothes back on and recalling Swift, who was still hurt from battle, I followed after Chibi as he led me through the depths of the hideout. Several times I had to point out a certain room that we had detoured through, but each time we went through an area like that, I had to recall him so as to not arouse attention. Finally, we arrived back in the original hallway and Chibi pointed out the steel door that contained the mysterious thirty-sixth experiment. After quickly referring to my Communicator, I found the needed code and entered it in on the keypad.

The door opened and I looked around. I stepped forward, still not completely inside, and looked around at the complicated equipment, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness because there wasn't a light switch as far as I could see. Humongous test tubes lined the walls, and wall-high computers with other devices covered the left wall. Most of the tubes were empty and lined with an odd residue, but the one to the far left was filled with a creepy orange fluid, and inside it, hooked up to several tubes and wires, was a Pokémon.

It was large, probably at least six feet tall, and bearing a striking resemblance to a white cat with its ears, paws, and facial features, but what left me taken aback the most was that it had an eerie likeness of a human. It clearly was bipedal, and had nearly the exact proportion and anatomy of a human, save for the bony plate on its chest, an odd tube-like organ on the back of its neck, and a sleek, flexible purple tail.

"Is that Mewtwo?" I asked Chibi slowly. He nodded solemnly and seemed to show a large respect for the creature.

"Hard to tell he's Mew's clone, isn't it? They added human DNA to the mix, and since Mew has shreds of the genetic makeup of all Pokémon, they used that in order to further enhance Mewtwo's power," Chibi explained.

I continued to stare in awe at Mewtwo, and couldn't help but feel a weird sort of appreciation for Team Rocket's work, as something like Mewtwo had to be some sort of breakthrough. Even still, I knew nothing of that sort of science, and their intentions for him almost canceled out the work involved, in my opinion.

"Hey you, we're running a search and no ordinary members are allowed in this area right now!" I heard a voice snap.

I turned and glanced back out through the door to see another, older girl striding toward me, apparently another Executive from the way she was giving out orders. She looked to be about two, maybe three years older than me and was nearly the same height with short brown hair. Her uniform was also a short-sleeved shirt, but she had capri pants on and a black cap with the Rocket symbol. Upon seeing her, I immediately recalled Chibi and stuffed his Poké Ball in my pocket, but I couldn't help feeling an odd sense of seeing her somewhere before.

It hit me suddenly like a hammer. She was the Executive from Mt. Moon; I just knew it—her voice, and her overall appearance…even if I hadn't seen much of her that day. I struggled with all my might to suppress any sign of shock, but I wasn't exactly sure how to make a submissive sort of face. "Uh, yeah, sorry, I'll leave."

But as she neared, a slow look of surprise spread across her features. She paused about ten feet from me and heavily considered her words before saying, "Don't try to make up anything, because I know who you are. You're the girl who stole 009 and helped those other three destroy our transport jet. And you've got two seconds to explain what on earth you're doing here."

* * *

Claimer: The _details_ of the Legendary Control are mine. I realize that it is not an unheard-of concept, but I own any specifics of how it works.

Vogra is a Fakemon created by a friend of mine, and while I do not own it, I don't want to see it being used by anyone else.


	11. Mewtwo’s Awakening

**Chapter 10: Mewtwo's Awakening**

I stared, completely at a loss for words, my fears being confirmed. Even before Stracion explained she was on our side, she hadn't known exactly who I was. Now that this Executive had made the connection that the Rocket me was the same person from the jet incident, I'd never be good for another mission again.

She smirked, enjoying my sudden aghast look, and brushed a strand of auburn hair from her face before continuing, "Thought you'd be able to pose as one of us to get within our ranks, did you? Everyone knows about your stupid team, but there still are a few more things I'd like to find out, and you're gonna tell me."

I had a sudden sinking feeling that I really was going to end up telling her, but I figured that my only hope was to pose as though I was sure of myself. "What makes you say that?" I asked, my tone not sounding at all like I had intended.

"Because I am the highest ranking Executive in all of Kanto and you'd do well to know that I'm above every other Rocket you have faced," she stated, once again smirking with total confidence.

Seeing as I wasn't a Rocket, that fact didn't really impress me as much as she thought it would. I was hit with a sudden curiosity as to why she wasn't a Commander if she was the highest Executive and the Kanto Commander position wasn't taken. Ignoring that thought, however, I contemplated whether to reply to her or not. I also didn't feel like considering the fact that she was better than every other Rocket I had faced, and I had gotten my butt kicked by almost every other Rocket I had faced.

Instead, I pulled out a black Poké ball, released the genetic Pikachu hybrid and said, "Oh yeah? Well I've got Chibi and he beat you last time, so ha!"

Okay, so maybe the immaturity act didn't work as well as I thought it would.

Chibi looked up at me, raised an eyebrow, and said, "You do realize that I beat her last time as a fluke, right?"

I stared at him dumbfounded. "What?"

The Executive gave a sly grin and remarked, "Who said I wanted to battle? What if I said you're going to tell me what I want to know and then you're going to follow me to the boss, or else?"

My eyes fell on the black gun holster hanging from her Poké Ball belt, and I remained silent. I flickered my eyes slightly toward Chibi and had a sudden idea, but it would only work provided his reflexes were faster than hers.

"I, well…" I said, trying to stall and divert her attention while I very slightly nudged Chibi with my leg. He looked up at me and I tilted my head very slightly as though motioning toward the Rocket.

Chibi gave me an "are you sure?" look, and I slowly winked to confirm. Chibi nodded subtly.

"Well, what?" she demanded.

"Nothing," I said simply, and at that moment, Chibi instantly let loose a string of lightning that flew at her. She screamed and fell to her knees, and I took off running past her with Chibi. Now we'd done it; attacking someone and breaking the League Code like that, but the police wasn't here, and this sure as heck wasn't a time to think about morals.

I shot a glance over my shoulder as we sprinted down the blank hallway and saw the Executive slowly struggling to her feet.

"What the heck, you didn't even knock her out?!" I asked frantically.

Chibi scowled and answered, "More energy would require time to charge, so unless you wanted your guts full of lead, that's the best I could do."

"Damn it, you're dead now, you little twerp!" I heard her voice call out after us. It was soon followed by the distinctive sound of a Poké Ball being opened.

Chibi glanced back and spat, "Crap, it's that damn Raichu."

I heard a sudden crackle in the distance and turned around to see a flash of neon yellow filling my entire field of vision. I squinted but then suddenly felt a burst of gut-wrenching pain that gripped my senses and flooded every inch of my body. I screamed and suddenly felt unable to move as I stumbled over my own legs and collapsed, my very thoughts obscured by a torrent of electricity.

As suddenly as it had come, it vanished, and I slowly struggled to bring my elbows to bend. Sluggishly, I managed to move my arms to support myself and turn around.

I flinched the second I saw that neon glow again, but then noticed it was an immense, shielding Light Screen forming a dome around us and obstructing the constant barrage of the Raichu's assault. I clapped my hands to my ears the second another crash of electricity struck the shield.

"If…if I can just…absorb…enough power, maybe…I can win," Chibi muttered through gritted teeth, glaring at the Raichu.

"I still don't get it, what do you mean your last battle with it was a fluke?" I demanded.

"Raichu, maximum power!" the Executive commanded. The orange mouse called out his name and unleashed yet another wave of immense lightning, which collided with Chibi's shield with a burst of thunder.

Chibi's body soon started to shake, and he nearly stumbled once as he attempted to explain it to me and maintain the force field simultaneously.

"I was…full of Pichu's power…I could tell…she was way stronger than both me and the Raichu…that's why I won—aaauuuugh!!!" He screamed and collapsed as his body was suddenly engulfed in lightning despite his Light Screen. The shield vanished, and the Raichu paused before walking forward along with his trainer.

"What was that about 009 being able to beat me?" she said, smirking. "Cause since it has an undersized power capacity, once it's fully charged up, its little absorbing trick won't work anymore and it'll only hurt itself."

Shakily, I struggled to my feet and drew Chibi back into the Poké Ball in a beam of black light. I scowled at her, my right hand unintentionally moving toward the other Poké Balls in my pocket, but I knew better; Firestorm and Swift would be mutilated by her Pokémon.

"So, Jade…ready to give up?" she asked tauntingly.

"My eyes widened and I couldn't help but shout, "How'd you know my name?!"

She hesitated at the sudden outburst before saying, "Tyson told me, and he overheard one of your friends call you Jade." With a smirk, she added, "For the record, my name's Astra, but it's not like we'll be meeting up again after you get put in a detention cell. But first…who are you working for?" she questioned.

I struggled to keep a straight face, but my eyes kept flickering toward her Raichu. If I didn't answer, would she have him attack me again? My mind reeling, I struggled to come up with any possible solution, because I knew I would end up snapping if she had Raichu zap me until I told her.

Her statement about Chibi being fully charged kept nagging at me, though, and bringing up something in my mind—how Poké Balls worked, yeah, that was it. Suddenly remembering something that I had learned long ago, I realized that we had a chance. I clutched Chibi's black Poké ball. It was a gamble, and I knew it.

"Like I'd tell you!" I suddenly yelled, hurling his Poké Ball forward. It opened; Chibi appeared, weak and aching, but awake. I was right! Being released from a Poké ball's hibernation left a Pokémon conscious regardless of whether it was knocked out when it was recalled. In most cases, this didn't matter, because by the time a Pokémon was knocked out in battle, it was injured and out of power, but Chibi had been fully charged and was only knocked out due to sheer shock, and that was Astra's one mistake. If she had pressed the attack after he had fallen, my plan wouldn't have worked.

I grinned and then gave what felt like my first confidant battle command ever: "Chibi, Discharge!"

He didn't question, nor did he look back at me, for he had proven himself to understand what was needed to win in battles far better than I had. Chibi clenched his fists and let every spike of his golden fur stand on end before completely surrounding himself in an immense orb of power.

"Raichu, before it can attack, hit it with a Thunder!" Astra yelled.

The second she said that, Raichu began charging a bolt of lighting from the yellow pouches on its cheeks, but Chibi then unleashed his wave of electricity at the larger, orange mouse, and before it could finish powering up, it cried out and collapsed.

I then noticed a considerable decrease in the intensity of the attack as Chibi redirected his Discharge at Astra. She widened her eyes and reached quickly for another Poké ball, but was too late as Chibi's orb of pulsing lightning struck her. She didn't even have time to scream; the sheer force of the attack knocked her unconscious in a second, and she slumped to the floor along with her Raichu.

Chibi stood weakly, sparking, gasping for breath, and now very nearly drained of power in addition to having already been hurt from the Raichu's first attack. "Can you run okay?" I asked suddenly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he muttered, though I knew he wasn't. He dropped to all fours and ran past me. I sprinted after him.

"Where do we go now?!" I asked frantically.

"The whole entire base is on high alert, and the only way to get out of here would be to go through the—get in here!"

He instantly ducked into the nearest doorway and I did the same, peeking around the corner soon afterwards to see a couple of regular Grunt members on patrol further down the corridor.

"Since Astra and Stracion are the only ones who know who you are, you should be able to make it back to the entrance okay, but I'd be noticed in a second," Chibi explained quietly.

"But I can't find my way back without you!" I shouted as loud as possible while whispering.

He groaned. "Come on, can't you use the directory?!" He turned back to the hallway and glanced around the corner, muttering, "We'd better get away from the door, they're coming this way."

We walked toward the back of the room, which was, for the most part, blank and empty, save for a bizarre machine in the back that was such an insane mess of wires and tubes that I could never attempt to figure out what it was for. From our vantagepoint, I could see the two Rockets as they walked past the doorway, but then heard them break into a run down the hallway. After a minute or so of muffled dialogue, I heard a voice shout, "Of course I'm okay! Did you see a teenage girl with Experiment Number Nine go by here?!"

I could barely make out them talking some more before the two Rockets raced past the door, soon followed by Astra.

"Hey…" I said all of a sudden. "Once they're gone, we could go back to the Mewtwo room and—"

"Why go back?" Chibi muttered. "You already got to see him."

"By now I'll defiantly not be able to just walk outta here with Astra out there telling everyone to look for me, and what better place to hide? We can go in there, lock the door, and just wait for all the insanity to be over."

Chibi simply shrugged and said, "True, I guess."

We strode quickly back down the hallway and once again reached the door that led into the Mewtwo room, which was still unlocked from when I had originally opened it. I walked in alongside Chibi before it shut and reset the lock with a beep.

The room lay in a jumble as though people had been in the middle of something and had rushed off without a thought. It still remained the same as it was the last time we entered it, with the main computer, the immense tubes, and the one filled with the orange fluid that contained the humanoid cat-like clone. I stood there transfixed for a few seconds; it was the second time I had seen him and the second time I had been in awe of the creature. His sleek purple tail wafted in the liquid, and his eyes were screwed shut as though he was concentrating hard on something.

All of a sudden, Chibi jumped up onto the cushioned desk chair by the computer and concentrated on three words blinking on the top left of its massive screen: MTC Program Ready.

"Why's the computer on?" I asked. "We're the only ones here and this room was all locked up before."

"There usually were tons of scientists in here every hour of every day. I guess they left when the alarms went off, but left the computer on," he explained. He then tapped the enter key, causing the screen to clear and a small box to appear on the otherwise blank monitor. Chibi stared at it, focusing hard, before finally seeming to remember something. He leaned forward over the keypad and carefully pushed one letter at a time with small yellow claws to type "hello" before pushing enter again.

All this time I had been watching with fascination before finally saying, "You can read?"

He nodded slowly, still not taking his eyes off of the screen.

I gave him an odd look before asking skeptically, "Don't tell me it's another weirdo Zapdos thing."

"No," Chibi said, rolling his eyes. "I taught myself how, and it wasn't easy, either. Every time a Rocket read something aloud off of a sign or something, I would desperately try to remember what he said and what symbols were on what he read. It took over a year for me to learn the twenty-six letters and what they sounded like. Then I drove myself crazy trying to figure out how many millions of sounds each letter could make especially when combined with other letters. My spelling is really, really sucky, and I have trouble pronouncing things, but yeah, I can read and write."

I glanced back at the screen where the word "hello" remained on the screen. "I still don't see the point of typing that," I said flatly.

He rolled his eyes again and said, "Just wait…"

I stared at the screen, unsure of what to be waiting for when, at the bottom, the words "Detecting Projected Brain Wave Frequencies" appeared. Soon after that, however, I heard a distant-sounding voice, deep and powerful as it resounded in my mind: (Human…why have you come here?)

"Whaa—?" I asked, clueless as to what the heck was going on. "Did you hear that?" I frantically asked Chibi.

"Yes," he stated simply. "This was an old attempt to send messages to Mewtwo before he was fully developed. I never knew it actually worked, though." He stopped and turned back to the screen before typing, "i am en ekperemet tu and i am her with a frend."

"Do you want me to type?" I asked flatly.

"No. Besides, I think he'll get the basic idea…" Chibi muttered, sounding slightly insulted. I didn't press the subject, but rather waited in silence for the voice.

(Another experiment? I was unaware that there were others… In recent times, the humans have been here very often, but they only work with the machines. They used to make many attempts to speak to me, but I wouldn't answer. I have only once talked with anyone, but that was so long ago…and he has not returned. Now there is no one…) Mewtwo explained.

"How's he do that?" I suddenly asked Chibi.

"I don't really know," he admitted, turning to face me. "I remember the scientists talking about him being able to broadcast his thoughts in waves or something, but that's all." He spun back around in the chair and began to very slowly type another, rather badly spelled message.

"Can't you just let me type? It'll go faster," I advised.

Finally, he groaned and muttered, "Fine, whatever." He slid out of the chair, and I sat down and typed, "Can't you come out of there? Do you have to be in the tube, because it looks like you would be able to survive outside."

I noticed that Chibi was sitting on the top of the back to the chair, peering over my shoulder. "You don't type much faster than me," he pointed out.

"Shut up," I muttered, not wanting to continue our pointless argument.

Right then, Mewtwo answered mentally, (I do not know. I know only of the things I was told of, and of the things I have known for much longer.)

I wasn't entirely sure how to respond. I hated it when that happened in IM conversations, but this felt even more awkward until finally, Chibi spoke up.

"I think I remember them saying some kind of way, some kind of serum or something. It's how they awakened the clones in the past, but…" he paused, trying desperately to remember something. "I think it's a file command or something. Get rid of the communication window and let me see."

I only just then noticed the miniscule "minimize, maximize, and close" commands that normally resided in the upper right corner of most programs. I moved the arrow up to minimize, tapped the sensor pad, and was surprised to see the screen burst into color with a wavering 3-D graph with constantly moving waves of blue and green.

"Yeah, that's it, let me see for a second, " Chibi said, and I moved out of the chair to allow him to slide down into it and move his hand along the sensor pad. He clicked through the files along the left side, glancing slowly through the text and closing each one. Finally, he got to one he seemed to be looking for, and read it slowly before coming to the bottom. I skimmed it quickly, noticing mainly that it was a set of records far more detailed than the normal archives I had accessed on Stalker's computer. At the bottom, there was a small square of bold text, and below that, a link entitled, "Commence Procedure."

"This is it…I know they were going to run more tests, but…" Chibi trailed off, but then without any hesitation, he clicked on the link.

The screen switched suddenly back to the graph with a symbol on the bottom blinking furiously. I immediately whirled around to see Mewtwo, but didn't see any difference. Chibi however, had gone back to the communication program and was typing as quickly as possible, instructing Mewtwo to focus on his energy.

"What good will that do…?" I said aloud, letting myself trail off, but I widened my eyes in surprise as I turned back to the glass container.

The tubing that was hooked up to Mewtwo was filled with an eerie purple substance, and a veil of transparent blue energy suddenly enveloped the glass cylinder. I stared in paralyzed awe at what was happening as Mewtwo's tail twitched in the orange fluid and the tubes quickly snapped. A small crack appeared in the glass and widened rapidly as it spread around the entire container.

"If it breaks will he die?!" I demanded all of a sudden.

Chibi didn't say anything, but rather frantically motioned for me to get behind the chair. I obeyed and he whirled the back of it so that it was between Mewtwo and us. Suddenly, there was a burst of shattering glass, and I saw several shards fly over the chair and smash into the wall. When I looked down, I noticed the orange water streaming across the floor, lapping at my sneakers.

A shrill blare of sound issued from the computers and the screen switched suddenly to bold letting blinking, "Error. Containment Malfunction."

"Oh crap, not again!" I shouted over that alarm, but my curiosity reminded me of what had just happened, and I swiveled the chair around.

The metal part of the containers was now lined with shards of glass, and within the jagged circle, Mewtwo sat cross-legged, his paws in his lap. The water dripped continuously down his sleek, pale lavender features, and very slowly, he opened his eyes, revealing his brilliant violet irises.

"Come _on_, we gotta get outta here!" Chibi urged, racing to the door, but I ignored him and the sirens in the background as I walked slowly toward the humanoid feline experiment.

"Mewtwo…?" I asked hesitantly.

He raised his large head slowly, blinking once and staring at the room with widened eyes. (I…see…) he spoke shakily, raising his paws in front of his face and slowly clenching them in wonder.

"Jade!" Chibi yelled angrily, attempting to be heard over the alarm. "We have to go, NOW!!!"

I turned quickly toward the door, not because of Chibi, but because of several shouts and yelling outside. Almost as if out of reaction, I reached for the black Poké Ball in my pocket and recalled him right before the heavy metal door burst open and a crowd of scientists and regular Rockets poured into the room. The second they entered, rather than converge on me as I had figured, they circled around Mewtwo in a frenzy.

"What did you do?!" a scientist demanded as another man rushed to the computer keypad on the desk and hurriedly typed something, shutting down the alarm.

I was relieved at the absence of the piercing siren, but then nervously replied, "I, err, all I did was click something and then it broke, but I didn't mess up anything, I swear!"

"It's true!" one of the other scientists yelled from across the room after quickly examining Mewtwo. "Number Thirty-six is conscious!"

At that, there was more shouting as the scientist who had yelled at me rushed over to Mewtwo. I groaned, as I obviously wasn't going anywhere soon. Mewtwo recoiled back slightly, apprehensive at all of the commotion around him.

"Enough!" a commanding voice barked, and at once, the confusion and insanity vanished as though a switch had been flipped. I turned to the doorway and saw a man standing there, glaring in an overbearing way toward the Rockets. He was tall and broad shouldered, dressed in a dark suit and dress shoes with his sleek, dark brown hair slicked back against his head. He stepped slowly forward, and the other Rockets drew back in fearful respect.

"Are you the one responsible for this?" he asked leisurely, his overall expression looking to be rather amused at the whole situation.

Seeing no other options, I uneasily replied, "Uhh…yeah."

"Well, then…I'm surprised that this operation was carried out by a child, as these here fools have been pestering me with all their facts rather than just getting the job done for quite some time now." He gave a slight laugh and said, "Grunts, resume the search for the rebel; scientists, set to work on cleaning up this place and preparing Mewtwo for testing; you, come with me."

I stared. His reaction wasn't anything near what I expected, but what was even more shocking was that this was Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket. Stunned, I stood and walked after him out of the room, soon followed by over half of the crowd of Rockets. I glanced back over my shoulder at Mewtwo, who remained curiously observant of everything happening around him.

"So…you, what's your name and agent number?" Giovanni asked.

"Er, Aly. Aly Arenesa,"—I paused as it suddenly dawned on me that my fake Rocket name didn't exactly go well with my real last name—"number, um…4369"

"Well…although I won't doubt your assistance in The Mewtwo Project…"—here he paused, and slowly considered his words as he slightly narrowed his eyes—"you were in a restricted area, in a room that is strictly off limits at any time, and the issue of high alert is still in effect."

I gulped, feeling the tables turn suddenly as I contemplated how to respond to that. "I, see…I knew this place wasn't allowed right now, but…well, I kinda was hoping to find the rebel all by myself, and the door there actually was unlocked, so I figured maybe she was hiding in there, but the computer was on and it all sort of just…happened."

I groaned mentally, angry at how stupid my explanation had been. Giovanni, however, muttered, "Those fools, leaving it on and unlocked. Well, I normally am much harsher on such actions, but as I haven't seen you before and you must be new, a docking of rank will be all in the way of penalties…this time." The last part was said in a more threatening manner, but he added, "Your resourcefulness is to be commended, however," before striding off down the hallway.

I followed all of the other members until I was finally back at the commons. I had mixed feelings about being in the central area again, as what Giovanni had said about preparing Mewtwo for testing was nagging at me. Nonetheless, I stood silently as the agents dispersed and Giovanni, now speaking with several Executives, none of which were Astra, thankfully, strolled down a different hallway

As if everything that had just happened wasn't enough for one day, right then, a small beeping noise came from my left pocket. I rapidly retrieved my Communicator and stared at it. It was obvious someone was calling me, but who, and how exactly did I work it? I was part of the minority that had never owned a cell phone, but I flipped up the screen and pushed the largest button.

"Err, hello?" I said as more of a question than a greeting.

"Hey, Jade, it's me, Stracion," the caller said as her picture appeared on the screen.

"Stracion? But, how…? I never told you my name _or_ my number," I said, confused.

"Stalker told me, now you—" she started.

Why did everyone always seem to know everything I didn't? "How do you know about Stalker? Is he how you learned all that stuff about The Rebellion? How did—?"

"Jeez, hold on, I don't have much time, and Stalker knows _everyone_ with the same motives as him. But anyways, my division just got done searching wing number six, and I only have a minute or so. I don't know if you've tried getting out yet, but there are guards stationed at all possible exits and no members are allowed in or out until, well, you're captured."

"Sheesh, why are they all after me?!" I exclaimed in frustration.

"This is the first time a rebel's been discovered _inside_ a base. None of the other Rebellion members have even caused suspicion," she explained, her expression mixed between pity and somewhat like she was trying not to laugh.

As if I needed yet another reason to feel stupid.

"So…if there's no way out, what do I do?" I asked.

There was a brief silence as she turned away from her Communicator and spoke with another Rocket. "Crap, I gotta go. About half an hour or so ago, I called a guy who can probably help. He had a run in with Team Rocket over a month ago and escaped, but then later tried to cause trouble by sneaking in and causing some havoc with his Pokémon and was caught. I helped him escape and he knows about the Rebellion and stuff, too. In the next few minutes by the main entrance in the gym, if you hear any explosions or anything, run toward them," she hastily explained before hanging up.

Even after several seconds had gone by, I still gaped at the now blank screen in complete and utter confusion. Explosions? And who exactly was I supposed to be looking for to get help? I sighed, reflecting upon how unpredictable my life had gotten. I walked slowly forward through the commons, oblivious to the crowd of Rockets around me. The tables and chairs in both the main open area and the snack bar were all taken, so I trudged on through the mob and sat down on a metal bench nearest the door that led to the stairs, and therefore, the main entrance.

I didn't have to wait long.

A sudden boom echoed throughout the main area, sending the regular members into a mild panic. Numerous Rockets stood to their feet and there was even more of a roar of loud conversation than there had been before, but I glanced back at the entrance door, seeing the guards instantly opening the metal entry. My heart gave a leap; maybe Stracion's plan, confusing as if may have been, would work.

I wasn't expecting what happened next, though.

The wall shattered into pieces as a pulsing beam of energy burst through it, instantly causing absolute chaos to ensue. Executives rushed forward, Grunts scrambled; everything was in pandemonium as I fan forward, wondering what to do next.

At once, the door flew off its massive hinges as an immense orange dog burst through, surrounded by brilliantly glowing flames and roaring menacingly to keep the Rockets at bay before racing back up through the stairway.

"After it, now!!!" an Executive near to me shouted, and at his command, the rest of the Executives as well as any members who dared to interfere raced after the Arcanine. I struggled to make my way through the crowd, but then tripped and banged my left knee against the stairs. I jumped to my feet to avoid being trampled and shoved through the crowd, not caring about anything else but what Stracion had told me.

A huge hole had been blown through the main doorway in the side of the gym, and we poured out into the alleyway where the dog stood cornered, its back to the brick wall behind it. The Executives released a myriad of powerful Pokémon, but at once, the fiery dog lunged upward and bounded over us and into the street. There were no cars, so it quickly pivoted around and raced off into the trees.

Though I expected them to race after it once more, an Executive commanded for everyone to stop and there was a murmur of conversation as they probably discussed whether to pursue the dog.

"Hey, up here!" a voice shouted.

Everyone, including me, immediately looked up to see the sun shadowed by a pair of broad wings. Red and yellow feathers blew in the breeze as the impossibly large tan eagle soared over us. I knew that Pidgeot were able to learn the move Hyper Beam, and I concluded that it was what had blown the hole in the base.

The bird Pokémon wasn't what attracted the Rockets' attention, however. Riding on its back was a teenaged Pokémon Trainer who was the one who had yelled to us. His short, dirty-blonde hair was mostly covered by a black bandana, and the wind ruffled his gray shirt and baggy, dark blue jeans.

It took a second, but I suddenly realized that he was the guy from the plane incident; he was…he was…he was the guy whose name I apparently had forgotten, but I knew it was him: the Typhlosion trainer. The Executives recalled their Pokémon to immediately release them on the other side of the crowd before charging after where the Arcanine had run off to. The guy on the Pidgeot, however, made the bird fly lower and released a burst of white light, which quickly formed into a tall, upright beast with tan and black fur and a blazing ring of fire ignited along its neck.

"Typhlosion, Flame Barrier!" he commanded, but right after yelling that, he glanced back down at us and nodded his head toward the forest, where the orange and black dog had dashed into before. It took me a second, but I understood. From what Stracion had told both of us, he knew I had to be in the mob of Grunts somewhere and would know that he supposed to help me. I made my way slowly to the edge, hoping I was right in assuming that I was supposed to follow his Arcanine.

Preoccupied with Typhlosion, no one noticed as I walked out into the street, glancing back at the battle. A cream-colored horse had just unleashed a wave of flame at Typhlosion, easily overpowering the lone beast. The pony smirked, and the flames along its mane and ankles intensified as it readied for another attack. With a quick glance at the Executives along the front line, I saw that it was Astra's Ponyta.

The Typhlosion attempted to surround itself in flame to protect itself, but the Ponyta breathed out a tongue of white-hot flame that burst through the defense and scorched the beast's fur. It glared back at the horse and roared, but I suddenly remember what I was supposed to do and turned from the battle as though I was being jarred from a trance. Skillful battling always seemed to do that to me.

I raced out of the street and into the trees, not really sure what I was looking for, but not slowing down. I continued through the leafless bushes and around the spindly trunks of trees until, after little more than a minute, there was a crackle of bushes snapping as a six-foot-tall dog jumped out and stood next to me. The fluffy, off-white fur on its legs brushed against my side, and it nodded to me once before then proceeding to howl at the top of its lungs.

"Hey, wait, what are you doing?!" I demanded, but it glared at me, gave me a meaningful look, and howled again.

In seconds, the branches shook, and the wind rushed as the Pidgeot suddenly swooped down into the forest. The trainer on its back held out a Poké Ball and recalled his Arcanine into it in a beam of red light as the eagle touched down onto the ground.

"Hey, long time, no see, Jade," he said, grinning. But with a nervous glance over his shoulder, he added, "Yeah, I already recalled Typhlosion, but for now, let's talk later, we'd better get outta here."

* * *

Claimer: I own the League Code itself, however briefly it was mentioned. However, the concept of regulations for what Pokémon and Trainers can and can't do is nothing new.

The whole Poké ball thing is mine…you know, how Pokémon aren't healed when they get recalled, just mildly rested (depending on the amount of time), but always conscious. And I own the MTC Program…the Mewtwo communication.

Between you and me, I can't even remember what MTC stands for… xP


	12. The Shrine of Midnight Island

Big note: There is a legend later in this chapter that gives titles for all the Legendaries, but I haven't come up with titles for all the Sinnoh Legends yet. Regardless, it still says that there are thirty-four Legendaries. Jade mentions that she thinks there are 12 Sinnoh legends. To avoid confusion, I'll say this now: she has not heard of Arceus, and I do _not_ count Phione as a Legendary. Legendaries are unique in my fic…Manaphy wouldn't be out breeding.

**Chapter 11: The Shrine of Midnight Island**

I frantically scrambled onto the back of the immense bird, struggling not to pull out any of its feathers as I mounted it and sat right behind its wing joint. The trainer held onto its neck and said, "Alright, let's go, Pidgeot," as the bird spread its immense, twenty-five-foot wingspan and took to the air, its wings glowing very faintly. I hid my face as we soared over the Rockets, and Pidgeot put on a burst of speed right as the Rockets began firing. I could hear the whizzing of bullets far behind us, but Pidgeot was moving much too fast for us to be hit.

I gripped the eagle's side as we streaked through the air and over the dormant trees of the forest below at incredible speeds. The dusty-colored bird of prey adjusted its wings and rose gradually until vast expanses of forest and city could be seen below.

"So…I dunno if Stracion told you, but after that whole incident with the plane, I got caught by Team Rocket _again_ after trying to break into one of their bases," the trainer said with a slight laugh. "How'd you get mixed in all this?"

"I ran into Stalker before I got caught, and after Ajia flew me to Vermilion, I waited there so I could meet up with Stalker and join The Rebellion. Erm…yeah, what was your name again?" I said stupidly.

"Spencer," he laughed.

We talked on for a bit about what had happened with both of us after the jet incident. Spencer actually was rather laid back and comical when not in battle. It didn't take long for the mainland beneath Pidgeot's wide wings to turn into the waters of the Lavender Strait and finally the forests of northern Midnight Island. The immense eagle upon which we rode threw back its wings and descended toward the clearing where Midnight Stadium stood. Finally, Pidgeot flared its tail and spread out its wings for drag before touching down with its talons onto the cold, hard pavement surrounding the structure. I slid down the bird's glossy feathers and strode a few paces toward the door before turning back and saying, "Hey, thanks."

"No problem, see ya," Spencer said, nudging his Pidgeot slightly as a command to take to the sky once more. I watched as, with a flap of its immense wings, the eagle rose from the ground and ascended swiftly into the skies.

I turned and walked toward the main entrance to the stadium. With a push of the main doors, I entered the main lobby and paused for a moment. I figured I'd probably need to talk to Stalker about it, so I turned down the hallway to the right and entered the battlefield.

Few trainers were battling, and after quickly surveying the kids that were there, I found that Stalker must have been back at the main office. I walked briskly across the tile back down the left hallway and knocked on the door. A voice inside replied, "Yeah?"

"Um, hey, it's Jade," I said.

Right after that, I could hear the sound of a desk chair moving, followed by footsteps, and finally, Stalker opening the door. "So you're back," he said with a slight laugh, beckoning for me to enter the office.

"Well, I must admit," he said, once again leaning back against his chair, "that whole situation was a mess to sort out, but it did create a stir with the Rockets, and I bet they're gonna be awfully defensive for a while, which is good. Of course, the whole reason you went on that mission was to deal with the experiments…" He paused expectantly.

"Oh," I said, realizing I should brief him of the mission. "I managed to steal 009 and also freed three other experiments: the Scyther hybrid, and an Absol and Flygon that I think must have been clones. I also broke into the Mewtwo lab, awakened Mewtwo, and I believe they're going to use him to capture more Legendary Pokémon, because they now can control Legendaries, and Mewtwo would be a match for them."

"Pretty impressive," Stalker commented. "Really, despite all the mess with you being discovered, you did pretty good for your first mission. But did anyone see you acting against Team Rocket as your Rocket self?"

"Nope, they were all after 'the rebel,'" I said. But then it dawned on me. "Oh crap…Astra…an Executive, she saw me as my Rocket self, but then recognized me from the plane incident."

"Astra?" he said questioningly. "Oh, yeah…her," he spoke with a faint smile, as though remembering something amusing. "Hmm, I think you'd better avoid her if you're ever gonna go on any more missions." He thought for a second and then continued, "You're sure no one else made the connection that your Rocket self is really you?"

"Yep, sure," I replied.

"Good, now we just need to hope that she doesn't inform the boss, because then they'd soon be able to search the member list to find out who you are. I don't think she will, though."

I couldn't help but ask. "Why?"

"Long story, but let's just leave it that despite being head Executive, Astra's got a record for going easy on rebels. But anyways, I doubt it'll be safe to go on another mission for a while, but I'll need to find out more about Mewtwo. I guess I can ask some infiltration members already at the base to check it out."

I hadn't particularly been listening; I had been more focused on remembering the battles that had taken place at the Rockets' base, and I finally said, "Stalker, I need to learn how to battle, I mean _really_ battle. All those Rockets I've faced…I haven't stood a chance against any of them. You told me how to strategize, but I need to learn everything."

With a slight laugh, Stalker replied, "It's been a while since I've heard that. I've been tutoring a few trainers specifically so I guess I could train you. First lesson whenever you want tomorrow. And before I forget, all members have been paid for their missions already, and you've gone on two, so here."

I had been about to leave before he added that, but when I turned, he handed me a small wad of cash. My eyes widened as I flipped through the bills. Small wad, _big_ amount.

"Whoa…thanks!" I said, turning and exiting the room.

I walked, almost unintentionally, up the stairs on the right and to my room. I threw open the door and practically fell on the bed, overwhelmed with everything that had gone on. I sat up and slowly, for the umpteenth time that day, pulled the Team Rocket uniform off of my normal clothes, and threw them in a heap by my bed.

I glanced at my watch, utterly amazed to see that it was only three in the afternoon. I groaned at all the events of the past days: the Raikou mission the day before, the battle in the middle of the night at Pokémon Tower, and finally, all of the insanity of the past few hours. A haunting feeling resounded in the back of my mind when I compared my misadventure with the experiments to the Raikou mission, however. With the latter, had any of us even been in any real danger? There was the omnipresent threat of getting caught, but still…

There was no way I wanted to train right then. And it would be impossible to sleep. I sighed as I sat up and stared at the wall in deep thought.

---

"Swift, Wing Attack!!!"

"Wallarooby, mirror its movements and get in a few of your own hits!!!"

A large, chestnut hawk skydived at his opponent with wings glowing furiously with energy. The kangaroo lunged to the side along the battlefield with its immense hind legs, unfolding a massive pair of snowy, feathered wings. It leaped upward in a graceful motion and held its wings back to streak through the air at maximum speed. When it finally neared the ceiling, it turned right before hitting one of the light panels and dove back toward the bird in a similar skydive.

Stalker observed the move, nodding slightly and then turning to me as though waiting for my response. With Wallarooby's current path, Swift would be hit no matter what, and yet there had to be some way out of any situation. That was the very topic of the day's lesson: figuring a way to get around the opponent's current move. I glanced quickly from Swift, to Stalker, to Wallarooby, and then finally around the battlefield, my mind racing constantly.

"Swift, stay low to the ground!" I instructed, trying to ignore the shouts of the kids watching the battle.

The hawk had pulled out of his dive after seeing his opponent take to the air and now was zipping along the concrete floor, straining his wings to keep airborne with the little amount of lift.

"Wallarooby, pull out and smack Swift with your tail!" Stalker called out.

"Swift, don't give it the chance!" I shouted immediately afterward.

The kangaroo Pokémon stayed exactly on target at the Pidgeotto beneath it, increasing in speed constantly. Would it be able to hit Swift even though he was so close to the ground? Swift was now flying in a tight circle, ready to dodge anything that came at him. I held my breath, and the battle seemed to progress in slow motion with neither side making a move.

"Now!!!" Stalker and I shouted at nearly exactly the same time.

Swift dodged sharply to the left; Wallarooby pulled out of its dive and lunged forward. Wings flapped; feathers flew. Swift dove in for the attack!

Smack!

Swift reeled backwards, recoiling from a hard blow he had received from the kangaroo. Wallarooby. He struggled to regain his flight, but was knocked back again by a blow from his opponent's tail. He crumpled to the ground in a bundle of feathers. Quickly, I recalled him into his Poké ball.

"Not too bad, at least you've managed to keep your head in all of the recent battles. You need to always stay confident." Stalker recalled his Pokémon in a beam of red.

It was our tenth battle like that. He would explain a certain detail to battling and then test me in a practice battle. In between lessons, I would practice the moves with Rudy and Darren. It had been over a month since my second mission, and I hoped I would be ready by the time I went on my third.

"You know what, Jade, I think maybe in a while you'll actually be able to win a battle and have it be mostly your doing," Firestorm said jokingly.

I rolled my eyes. "Ha ha," I replied flatly, snickering right afterward. We both knew I had been getting much better at giving out commands, but the overall atmosphere was laid back, and I found myself laughing at his comment anyway.

Stalker had spoken with another trainer, and now the two of them stood on opposite sides of the stadium. I strode away from the trainer's box with Firestorm and Chibi, through the crowd of other trainers, and met up with Rudy, Darren, and their Pokémon.

"That was sweet back there, Jade," Rudy said, grinning.

"Thanks, man," I replied.

"Hey, why don't we have a one-on-one-on-one battle? Everyone for themselves?" Darren suggested.

"You know I'm down with that!" Rudy exclaimed, immediately pulling out a Poké Ball to release his Wartortle in a flash. Darren whipped out his own to release his Ivysaur, and I nodded to Firestorm to step forward.

"How come you hardly ever use your Pikachu?" Darren asked curiously.

"Reasons," I countered simply, winking at Chibi. We both knew he not only was way stronger than my other Pokémon and my friends', but he seemed to be able to strategize completely on his own, and I needed all the practice I could get.

"Alright then, Cannon, start it off with a Water Gun!" Rudy commanded, using his recently invented nickname for his Wartortle.

"Ivysaur, dodge with Vine Whip!" Darren said soon after.

"Firestorm, keep an eye on Cannon and use Flamethrower!" I instructed.

The battle erupted with Wartortle spitting out twin torrents of water at Ivysaur and Firestorm. The teal flower reptile lunged to the side using his leafy vines for support while Firestorm ducked out of the way of the frigid water and exhaled a lick of white-hot flame. Again using vines for mobility, Ivysaur let loose a flurry of razor-edged leaves at Cannon.

"Chaaaaagh!" Firestorm cried, yet again breathing out a tongue of flaming embers at Ivysaur, this time because it was preoccupied. The leaf dinosaur threw himself out of the line of fire, yet was caught on the vine with—

Firestorm leaped back, sputtering suddenly and almost choking on his own flame. I turned suddenly to see the scarlet reptile snorting and trying to get the water out of his nostrils after being hit point blank with a Water Gun to the face. It was insane—there was no way I could pay attention to all three battlers and their attacks at the same time!

"Heh heh, sorry, Jade," Rudy said, grinning smugly and motioning once more to his Wartortle. "Cannon, use another Water Gun!"

"Ivysaur, use Stun Spore!" came Darren's voice.

The Wartortle stood its ground and spat out a stream of water, initially aiming for Firestorm, but soon changing direction to attempt to douse the orange cloud of spores Ivysaur had released into the air. The flower-backed reptile shot out twin vines from the leaves on his back and seized hold of Wartortle in an attempt to keep the tortoise from ruining the paralyzing spores. He got a face full of Water Gun in the process, but shook off the liquid, hardly looking fazed.

Seeing the imminent danger, Firestorm, after dodging Cannon's first jet of water, covered his nose to keep from inhaling the powder and breathed out numerous glowing embers, which sizzled and crackled as they obliterated the immobilizing pollen.

"Shoot, Ivysaur, Razor Leaf on both of them!!" Darren yelled suddenly.

Flurries of verdant, razor-edged leaves flew through the air, slicing both Cannon and Firestorm before they could do anything about it. The former was vulnerable to plant-based attacks such as that, while the latter was barely effected and simply wiped the blood off his brow with ivory claws.

"That's it, Cannon, use Withdraw _and_ Water Gun!"

At the command, the pale blue-violet tortoise sprung up and pulled its head, limbs, and billowy tail into its hard mahogany shell, therefore freeing itself form Ivysaur's grasp. Jets of water shot out onto the concrete in all directions, and the Wartortle used the propelling force to zoom in its shell along the slick trail and ram right into Ivysaur, spraying a misty stream of liquid constantly.

"We've got some tricks too, Firestorm, dodge and use 'Fire Punch' and keep it so that it can't get around!" I yelled, smirking at Rudy. It was our secret move: something I had actually managed to take advantage of from a failed Rocket battle.

Firestorm darted out of the path of a water spray and sprinted forward, blowing out a ball of flame onto his claws as he had done in Pokémon Tower. Evading the turtle's path, he brought back his arms and hurled the flaming projectiles. Seeing the imminent danger, Cannon spun out of the way, but it really wasn't the target. White-hot flares landed in the slippery trail, instantly heating it up and sending clouds of steam billowing up from it. The bipedal land tortoise immediately sprung up, crashing awkwardly to the floor and rubbing its burned shell painfully.

"Alright, same move, finish it off!" I exclaimed.

"No! Strike back with Water Gun!" Rudy shouted desperately.

Firestorm dashed towards his opponent, fists flaming all the more intense with anticipation and the adrenaline rush. He caught the turtle in a flaming uppercut to the chin, leaving a nasty burn of blistered scales, and was about to catch it off guard with another punch when—

Vines shot out from the left, the right, all around! Preoccupied, Firestorm was caught by the leg and thrown into the Wartortle, who had just managed to regain itself weakly and spewed water upon being nailed in the belly by Firestorm's skull. The Charmeleon cried out in pain as the liquid left rashes on his crimson scales. Turning quickly, I saw Ivysaur standing victoriously off to the right, retracting his vines, and looking very complacent. Darren was standing right next to him after probably whispering instructions into his Pokémon's ear and said, "You're right, it _is_ hard to focus on all the battlers at once."

I laughed slightly at our mistake as I recalled Firestorm into his red and white ball with the push of a button. "Heh, I guess me and Rudy got a bit carried away there." The two of them each recalled their Pokémon.

"Well that sure was a battle," Rudy said, walking over.

"Heh, you said, it…those were some pretty sweet move combos—both of you," I praised.

"Thanks," Darren said. "They've started another battle, wanna go check it out?"

I shook my head, "Nah, that's enough for now. I'm gonna head back up to my room, I'll see you guys later," I said.

"Later," Rudy replied, turning back to watch the new battle tutorial.

Chibi followed me as I ducked behind the main lobby counter and retrieved two first-aid potions Stalker had provided for the end of the trainers' battles. It was almost without thinking that I sprinted up the familiar steps and through the hallway I had taken so many times before, coming to my room and unlocking it with the swipe of the card key.

I flopped onto the bed feeling very energetic and in high spirits after the events of the day. I glanced at my watch to see that it was six in the afternoon before releasing Firestorm and Swift and pulling out the potions. With just a quick spray all over, Firestorm's rashes healed and Swift's sore muscles were soothed. Both were probably still out of energy, but it's not like they were going to be battling any time soon.

"Feelin' better?" I asked.

"Kinda stiff, but yeah," Firestorm replied. Swift nodded in agreement and flapped over to perch by the window.

Chibi, who really hadn't said anything for most of the day, said, "You think you're gonna be ready to go on a mission soon?"

"Maybe, I'm not really sure. I'm still worried about Mewtwo, but…well, I dunno if I'd be able to do anything."

"It's not like you did anything last time," Chibi said with a snicker.

"Oh, oh so that's how it is, is it?" I asked in silly tone of voice, surprised to see Chibi laughing about something. He did have a point in that he was the one who had awakened Mewtwo. "Yeah, well…" I searched for what to say, found nothing, and rather shoved a fluffy white pillow into the mutant rodent's face. He threw it back at me with disdain.

"Yaah!" Firestorm yelled, whacking me upside the head with the other pillow.

"Pillow fight!!!" I yelled suddenly, swinging the first pillow to collide with Firestorm's pale yellow belly. Chibi muttered something about pillows being a ridiculous form of artillery before fetching the smaller pillow from the chair and chucking it at my head.

Already halfway hanging off the bed trying to fend off Firestorm, I was knocked off entirely by Chibi's projectile and fell to the carpet with a thud.

"C'mon Swift, join us," I suggested while being bombarded by the other two. He raised the long, red feather over one eye in a motion not unlike the cocking of an eyebrow and turned back to the window in deep thought.

"Oh come on, what is so interesting about the window that is keeping you from having fun?" I teased, knowing full well that the hawk was thinking and was probably quite oblivious as to what he actually looking at outside the window.

"Just the structure in the forest," he replied in a nonchalant tone without turning. "I was wondering why it's there."

I turned to him in surprise, wondering what on earth he was talking about. Sensing my sudden change in demeanor upon hearing that led Firestorm and Chibi to continue the pillow fight without me. I got up of the floor and walked over.

"I assumed you knew about it," he said, shrugging his wings and beginning to preen his feathers.

Glancing out the window, I noticed a tiny group of buildings alongside a large stone to the far left, but most of it was blocked by the circular curve of Midnight Stadium.

"I can't see any more, what else is there?" I asked.

"I may have stronger vision, but I can only see the same amount of it over the tree line as you."

I shot a look back at Firestorm and Chibi, the former looking unimpressed and the latter concentrating very hard.

"Just sounds like a big boulder to me. It's the forest, who's to say there's not gonna be a ridge of rock or something?" Firestorm asked.

"It's deliberately placed. I don't know, I was only wondering," Swift mumbled.

I quickly looked from all three Pokémon to one another and then out at the "thing" that had caused so much controversy.

"Look, if anyone wants, we can go down there now and figure this out," I said, but Firestorm obviously objected and Swift didn't seem to want to know any more. I found, however, that the more I looked at it, the more the stone looked like it had been placed there. It was far too smooth, and I could almost swear I saw another slab beneath it, propping it up. I had to admit, I was curious about what it was.

"I'll go with you," Chibi said at last. I wasn't sure why he wanted to go, but I didn't question him.

"Okay, you two stay here then, we should be back in an hour," I said, feeling bit stupid in that I sounded like my mom whenever she left me and one of my sisters at home. I walked across the carpet to the door, let Chibi out first, and walked after him.

We stepped silently through the hallway, stairs, and lobby, for Chibi had shown he wasn't much of a talker on numerous occasions, and I liked the silence anyway. Outside, the sun was half hidden by the hills of the mainland to the western horizon and had already begun to paint the clouds with the scarlet, orange, and the golden glow of the sunset in its wake.

There wasn't much of a path to the stone in the clearing, but I knew it was somewhere to the east and kept walking constantly through the dense pines and occasional leafless deciduous trees of the island. My sneakers constantly crunched the dead fallen leaves, and after about half an hour, I was beginning to wonder if we were going the right direction when the shrubbery began to lessen. All of a sudden, we emerged into a large circle of dirt that had been stripped clean of trees.

Old, decrepit buildings were scattered across the land, looking as though they had, at one time, been placed neatly in order, but enough of them had been demolished and blown away that those that remained looked awkward and out of place. The structures were ancient and forlorn, the wood petrified and mold-eaten in some areas. As we strode further on into the midst of the forgotten town, the ground lay covered with ashes and strewn with slabs of rubble with great slash marks along the planks.

A sign had been posted in the south end of the area, most likely within the past few years because it was sturdy and painted brightly. The top of it, in vivid red letters read "No Trespassing. Violators risk a fine of up to 5,000 dollars and up to five years jail." And below it, the explanation was "The ruins are strictly off limits to anyone and everyone due to a number of reported Pokémon-induced deaths in the area. All tours have been cancelled." At the bottom was more technical stuff that I didn't bother reading.

I was rather unimpressed, and I had even seen signs like that before in an empty area where Rudy and I used to play in Viridian. Just as we had done then, I ignored the sign and continued on into the area where the fire had been.

Along the east side, there were fewer houses and structures. Rather, I looked up in awe at the "big rock thing" Swift had barely managed to make out earlier.

It wasn't a rock we had seen; it was a _shrine_.

Great slabs of pale stone were thrust up from the deep floor, forming walls and leaving the top open to the dusky skies. Twin pillars rose not far from me, and atop them was balanced a flat plate of marble with a number of symbols carved into it and below, the words "_Enamu mo a Unidae na Legendaria_."

No leaves littered the floors of the forgotten landmark, not as though it repelled them, but more like they had been blown away by some wind that had managed to clean the entire structure of dust and impurities. I stepped lightly along the raised steps to the main area and gazed up at the back wall in wonder.

Hundreds of carvings dominated its surface, most of them in strange symbols, some of them in various languages like Greek, Latin, or Japanese. And then, along the bottom right side of the wall, I found a section that was carved in English.

Even as the darkness fell, and the shadow lifted from the land at the end of the great war, the legends had already begun to die. The Four of Destiny were the origin of the continuing myth, which shall only be truly revealed when the land is once again plunged into darkness. For centuries, the land was protected by the Order of Legends: the three Titans of the Elements, the three Incarnations of Nature, the three Powers of the Land and their King, the three Keepers of the Heart, the four Unbound by Worlds, the Rulers of Land, Sea, and Air, the Twin Eon Dragons, the Guardians of the Sky and the Waters, the Controllers of Time and Space, and the Spirits of Origin and Creation. Together, the thirty-three of them were to make the ultimate power that was to ignite the Revolution. The legend was corrupted, though, and only eight were of true power. The eight were banished to eight crystals, awakened by the Four of Destiny, and set to the land so that their descendants would awaken the legends. For though one of the eight abandoned the world, in due time, another, a final thirty-fourth legend would arise into being from the very heart of the darkness in order to take that one's place in the legacy of Legendaria. The eight would join with the interlopers to determine the balance of power in the coming age. For though none may prevail, what is set into motion shall be much greater indeed.

I stared. Memories from Pokémon Tower were bubbling up in my mind and rising like a flame to provide answers. I strained my mind to remember what the legend of the Dark Crystal was and found that when combined, the two ancient writings seemed to explain each other's mysteries. The great war had been mentioned in the previous legend, although I wished there had been more details. The thirty-three keepers of the legends made sense in that they were the Legendary Pokémon, just like the "pact of thirty-three" from the other one.

And then, for whatever reason, it hit me. What Chibi had said way back at the plane incident…it was something about that Team Rocket was defying the legends—Team Rocket was the "heart of the darkness." And the thirty-fourth legend most definitely had to be Mewtwo.

Thirty-fourth…that kept nagging at me. How many Legendaries were there? I was pretty sure that Kanto had five including Mewtwo, Johto had six, Hoenn had ten, and Sinnoh had twelve although I didn't know all of their names. That made thirty-three…what was the last one? It certainly seemed like there were a lot more Legendary Pokémon than most people had ever heard of, although I had heard that most of the Hoenn and Sinnoh Legends had been sealed away somehow, which would explain it.

The word "Legendaria" still puzzled me as well, but not nearly as much as "the Four of Destiny." They didn't seem to fit in to any other part of the legend, and although they probably dealt with the war, I wondered why it said nothing more about them.

Chibi was still silent, reading the legend slowly and showing no recognizable emotion on his face. I turned from the English section of the stone panel and to the carvings on the side walls, most of which were destroyed. Although at a glance, the other rock walls seemed to have been weathered away, when I looked closer, I could see otherwise. I stepped nearer and ran my fingers across the rough surface, noticing that it was far too uneven and jagged for the destruction to have occurred over time. Some inscriptions, however, showed through, and I could just make out the words, "the writings do not lie—eight were banished, many others sealed for eternity—only the," near the bottom.

"Explain your presence here, human."

A chill ran up my back. The voice was like that of some eerie howl blended with the speech of a domineering female. It gripped my senses and resounded in my ears even after the words had been spoken, as though they were communicated with more than just mere sound. Very slowly, I looked up to gaze at the flat stone on top of the entrance pillars, where she stood.

Her cerulean frame was poised upon the stone, the surreal glow that emanated from her body a stark contrast to the drab gray of the surrounding. She was like some immense beast mixed with the features of a feline and a canine, for despite her wolfish face and structure, she had a smooth, sleek, and almost liquid steel look to her muscles, like some immense cheetah or leopard with ivory diamonds spotting her azure coat. An immense sea-green crystal thrust itself upward from the creature's skull, and from it billowed a mane of the deepest violet, drifting as though the beast was surrounded by her own gale that stirred the mane and wafted her ribbon-like tails constantly.

I had seen this creature before, yet only in books. She was Suicune, the Legendary Johto Beast of the North Wind.

Chibi turned suddenly, widening his eyes slightly, but only showing slight traces of fear. I, on the other hand, felt as though my knees had turned to Jell-O, like the time Raikou had run up to me. Something about the Legendaries' appearances, I wasn't sure what, but something just seems to deteriorate all resolve and make you feel like your insides are melting. Shakily, I replied, "Nothing, I was just—"

"If you were doing nothing, then why were you here?"

"I'm sorry, if I wasn't supposed to be here, then I'll leave now," I quickly responded.

She studied me carefully with her piercing scarlet eyes, considering her words before saying, "Very well, leave. This ground is sacred, and this shrine made to honor the fallen of ages past. The humans of the town do not dare tread here. Go. Return, and I shall have to kill you."

I let my breath out, feeling slightly relieved although the fear still felt like ice in my veins. I backed slowly away, keeping my eyes glued to the creature before finally turning and walking swiftly back into the forest. The trees shaded me from the moonlight, and I didn't dare look back until I had put a hundred yards between the clearing and me.

"Those carvings back there," Chibi said finally, speaking his first words to me since the room.

"Yeah, what about them, you saw them," I replied.

"No, the other ones, the symbols. I assumed most of them were other human languages, but…" He paused slightly and sighed. "Never mind, just…forget it."

I didn't press him for what he was originally going to say, but soon afterward, he kept glancing up in the sky and twitching his ears, as though something was up there that he couldn't quite identify…

----------

Suicune watched the girl and the small yellow Pokémon leave while pondering several things in her head. The human had read the legend. Humans were not supposed to lay eyes upon it. Thoughts raced through her mind; she knew every word of the writings by heart, and knew exactly what it foretold. Only one and a half years remained…

"Suicune!"

She turned at the voice to see a bird soaring effortlessly through the clouds, the moonlight reflecting off his immense goldenrod wings. Spiky plumes were thrust upward from his down, adorning his head, wings, and tail with their jagged appearance, and similar jet-black feathers alternated with the yellow in his wings and tail. The humongous bird of prey spiraled down upon the shrine before finally landing nimbly next to the cheetah with his orange-scaled talons.

After folding his wings comfortably and turning to face her, he opened his long, narrow beak and spoke. "So…you are drawn to the island as well."

She knew what he meant. It was the duty of the Legendaries to protect the secrets of their kin, but the real reason she had visited was because of the gathering of humans in the structure to the west of the memorial.

"They are facing against the ones who seek to destroy us," the bird said, his voice powerful and echoing like the crashing of thunder. "I have contemplated the fact that one or more of them may be worthy of—"

"Worthy," the cobalt beast spat, turning her wolf-like head to face her cousin. "_No_ human is worthy. Why should we have to ally with one of _them_?"

"Suicune…"

"Zapdos, I can't stand it anymore!" she yelled. They've imprisoned both of my brothers, and—"

"Damn it, Suicune, don't you think I worry about the same thing for me and my sisters?!" Zapdos shouted. "And are Raikou and Entei not my cousins? They have already gone after me once before, even if it was long ago. This should only show that if we cannot win against simple humans, how on earth are we supposed to survive with what _is_ coming?"

He sighed sympathetically. He had to admit, he did not know what it was like to lose the two that were closest to him. Yet he was still their cousin, and Raikou and Entei were not the only of their kin to have been captured. The very legends seemed be in danger those days.

"Look. We should know by now not to judge all humans by what happened in some stupid war. It's the past, it's behind us, and while I, too, once felt the same way you did, cousin Mew finally knocked some sense into me. We need to focus on what's going to happen _now_."

Suicune sighed. His words had penetrated her, and she mulled about his speech and what had been said to her in the past. Finally, the catlike beast said, "Fine. But we must be wary of their growing threat."

"Understood," Zapdos replied. He turned back to the stadium in the distance. His mahogany, hawk-like eyes easily took in every detail of its surface, and his keen hearing picked up sounds of a battle.

Pokémon battling. It had once been an obscene term in his world. Now it wasn't so much. With a nod back at his cousin, he spread his wide wings once more and took to the sky, effortlessly sailing off with the majesty of a Legendary Pokémon.

----------

It was late. Midnight, to be exact. Most of the activity in the stadium had quieted down, and those few trainers that were still awake were probably in their rooms.

Stalker leaned back in his desk chair, leisurely reading through a file on his laptop. He had never been much of a computer person, and yet he had found himself relying on them so often nowadays.

He closed several windows on the screen, nearly all of them Team Rocket related. It was amusing, almost, how so much of his life dealt with that damn team, yet he didn't plan on focusing on those affairs. Not tonight.

He closed everything and opened a program a friend of his had sent him. He had been meaning to try it out for some time now, however all the training had been getting in the way. He glanced through all of the legend-based material he had gathered over the years. Memories of his home in Ecruteak sprung up, for it was the most legend-oriented town in all of both Johto and Kanto. It was what had started his obsession, and fueled a burning ambition.

He pasted all of his files, every single one of them into the program. With a slight refer back to the e-mail his friend had sent him, Stalker clicked on the button labeled "Analyze."

A bar appeared on the bottom of the screen, projecting the computer's progress. He waited silently, watching as the computer looked through everything he had recorded, dissected every aspect of every legend. Even though it was an immensely complicated job, with his laptop's incredible speed, the search took a mere five minutes. Finally the computer beeped and brought up a box of text alongside one large window containing the legend recorded in the shrine of Midnight Island.

Stalker gazed at the wall, his eyes resting on a portrait of the structure. It was one of the main reasons why he had chosen Midnight Island for his team's base: to learn more about the legend. He turned back to his computer and read silently.

Legend data confirmed; thirty-three keepers of the legends identified as the thirty-three Legendary Pokémon. The Legendary that abandoned the world identified as the Spirit of Creation, Arceus. The thirty-fourth Legendary to arise from the heart of the darkness identified as Mewtwo. The eight Legendaries of true power are named as the Guardian Pokémon and are destined to join in an alliance with a single human each.

Stalker was already aware of most of that information and hit enter once to come to what he was really searching for. His eyes widened almost involuntarily with anticipation as he clicked once and then began to read the program's findings.

Eight Guardians identified as the Titan of Lightning, Zapdos; the Incarnation of Thunder, Raikou; the Incarnation of Wind, Suicune; the younger Eon Dragon Twin, Latias; the Guardian of the Sky, Ho-oh; the Guardian of the Waters, Lugia; the Spirit of Origin, Mew; and the Creation from the Darkness, Mewtwo.

"Perfect."

----------

* * *

Claimer: Alright…the Midnight Island legend is mine, end of story. This includes any non-canon Legendary titles, the Four of Destiny, the Legendary banishment, the Eight Guardians, the Revolution, **and Legendaria **(regardless of the fact that few details are present about it so far). 


	13. The Titans of the Elements

**Chapter 12: The Titans of the Elements**

Mewtwo: Codename given to the highly successful Experiment Thirty-six, now contained in a special holding facility in the primary headquarters underneath North Viridian. Testing has come up positive: the creature has indeed inherited many characteristics from its original, the legendary Mew. Therefore, the term Legendary may well apply to it as well, as its unique energy structure is similar to that of the original Mew DNA, as well as test results from Raikou, Entei, and the damaged Zapdos DNA used to create Experiment Number Nine.

I didn't like the sound of that at all. I remembered when Giovanni had mentioned that they were going to be running tests, but now it sounded like they were making sure Legendary control would work on him, and that only meant that more Legendaries were done for.

I clicked back one page and browsed again. I was on one of the main computer panels in the lobby that were normally used for registering trainers during competitions, but that we had mainly used for the Internet. Stalker had set it up so that anyone could access the Team Rocket web page. To my dismay, however, the site wasn't nearly as in depth as the databases in the actual bases. The risk was too great, I suppose, and the only information I could find was vague archives, rather than current mission plans and things of that sort.

Stalker had told that me he hadn't been able to get any more information on Mewtwo from any other members. I wanted to go to a Team Rocket base to see what I could figure out, but if no one else could get any info, then what would I be able to do? There had to be something, there had to be, because I was getting thoroughly bored with just training every day with the occasional trip to Midnight City when I had to buy food or go to the Laundromat. Recently, I had done almost nothing but watch TV and draw in my room.

Looking through various pages, I searched for anything, any secret page, any projects, anything. I selected the mission page as I had nearly a hundred times before and perused the descriptions and tables of past projects, yet still, nothing. Heck, it didn't even say anything whatsoever about the Raikou and Entei missions that had taken place in the past few months.

That's when it hit me. There was no mention of the Legendary Project. None. It had covered the experiments, but not the Legendaries. I scrolled quickly to the top and searched for the word "Raikou." A few seconds…the page reloaded…nothing. I tried Entei and Legendary next, but still nothing. Finally, I typed in Mew…and got a few partial matches with mentioning of it in Mewtwo's file. The match at the bottom had no description, so I clicked it.

It was dated February 3, 2024, which was a surprise to me, as I was hoping to find some good new stuff. I clicked on it and analyzed the text until I found the match on the word Mew, which was bolded. I read the paragraph it was in.

After the situation prior to Mew's escape on 7/5/2018, there has been some speculation as to whether the Legendary Pokémon are capable of specified long-range communication, particularly in times of crisis. Research in the matter has been used to aid the current project, however all findings have been under Level Ten security.

The current project…what current project? Really, why did they have to go overboard with security of doom? And the word Legendary was obviously blocked from all searches because that page hadn't shown up before I entered in Mew. Maybe I could talk Stalker into letting me delve into the matter a bit more thoroughly…

I clicked back until I got to the home page and then ran off to the stadium. After quickly surveying the battlers training, I saw that he wasn't there, but all of his Pokémon except Charizard were.

"Hey, do you know where Stalker is?" I asked the first trainer I saw.

"Um, yeah, he flew off somewhere to do something and said he'd be back later today, but he let us train with his other Pokémon," the boy replied.

"Okay, thanks," I said before walking off.

So I couldn't go on a mission just yet… I suppose I could wait until tomorrow, but then…I'd never really been much of a patient person. Then again, I could feel an idea rising in the back of mind—a somewhat stupid one, but one that would get me to the Viridian base, nonetheless.

I briskly walked over to Stalker's Verdegon, who stood off to the side, not currently engaged in a practice battle with any trainers. I looked up at it and said, "Hey, I know Stalker's not here, but can I ask you a favor?"

The emerald green dragon nodded.

"I want to go on a really quick mission at the Viridian base, but I'd need to fly there obviously, so could you give me a lift?"

Verdegon considered this for a few seconds before finally saying, "I suppose. C'mon, let's go now," in a rather powerful, growl-like, yet female voice.

"Just a sec, let me get something," I said, sprinting back up the stairs to my room so I could fetch my Communicator and the bag with my Team Rocket uniform. I met up with her back downstairs.

Her claws clicked on the tile as we walked back through the lobby and out into the parking lot area. The verdant reptile leaned forward onto all fours to let me mount, and once I got situated right behind her shoulders, she spread her wide, cerulean wings and flapped her arms furiously, stirring the dust into the air.

We soon gained enough altitude and were speeding across the same route Charizard had taken me when I had gone on my second mission. We landed in the deserted alley by the gym, and I dismounted before she quickly took to the sky once more. I sauntered over to the inconspicuous, yet infinitely important doorway, retrieved my Rocket ID from my wallet, and swiped it along the familiar scanner.

I heard a small click and looked up to see a tiny camera lens at the top of the doorframe. At first I thought that it was a security camera, and that someone was watching and would know who I was, but then, in a computerized voice, the scanner said, "Facial match confirmed, Aly Arenesa," and then the door slid to the side.

Oh, so it was automated, which made sense so that no one could get in by just stealing a card. I stepped inside, and it thudded shut behind me. Just as before, I used that opportunity to pull my Rocket clothes on over top of mine, only this time, I had something more. The last time I had come here, I had forgotten the black skullcap I had picked out on my first day on Midnight Island, and even now, I scarcely felt like myself as I pulled it over my dirty-blond hair and tied it in the back. Though I didn't have a mirror, I grinned at how I probably looked as I stepped down the stairs, passed the other scanners, and entered the base.

I felt a lot more confident this time around and didn't intend on letting the whole base know I was here like before. I found the directory a lot easier to figure out as well, for all the hallways were ordered starting with the one to the left of the entry, and from there, the doors and divisions were coded. I doubted Mewtwo would still be in the same room, and I figured they had probably been training him for battle during the past month and a half. After quickly perusing the map, however, I concluded that my best bet was 5-Ab, the Experiment Regulation Center.

I set off immediately for the fifth hallway, treading across the hard floor of the commons and around the gathered Rockets. Casually, I walked the short distance to the first door in the hallway and glanced quickly through the window, trying not to arouse suspicion.

There were scientists crowded into the brightly lit room, some of them at computers, others crowded around something at the far wall. I couldn't see it, but I could guess that it was none other than Mewtwo. I needed some way to talk to him, just to get an idea of what Team Rocket was planning and maybe access the database, but there was no way in the universe I'd be allowed in there.

Of course, I could always sneak in, but for that, I'd need to get all the scientists out of there. And for that, I'd need…

Chibi.

I had to find somewhere to talk privately for it to work. Unlike last time, in which areas were deserted with everyone searching for me, this time there would be no place to converse secretly. I really could only think of one option, so I set off across the commons. I entered the girls' bathroom and was relieved to see no one else was there. There would be no chance of eavesdropping, so I locked myself in one of the stalls and reached into my pocket to pull out a black Poké ball, enlarging it and opening it.

As always, the flash of energy immediately took the form of the small, spiky, yellow Pikachu hybrid.

"What the—where the hell are we?!" Chibi demanded instantly upon looking around.

"The girls' bathroom, just ignore it, you're a Pokémon, and we need to talk privately," I explained flatly. "We're in the Team Rocket base, same one as last time, and I'm hoping to talk to Mewtwo and get more information on what the heck Team Rocket's been doing lately, only there are tons of people all around, so I'd need a diversion."

"I'm guessing that's where I come in," he said, grinning slyly.

"Of course," I confirmed. "You know this base, so I need you to tell me a good place to release you where you can wreak a bit of havoc for, say…at least five minutes, preferably ten so I can look at the database. Then, in the confusion, I can recall you, slip out, and then get back to Stalker with a ton of new information."

He nodded and thought for bit before saying all of a sudden, "The seventh hallway, the Office Division, would be best. Most everyone there's in individual rooms and doesn't have Pokémon. So just release me there, and when things get too rough, I'll run back to the where you are, and we can figure out how you can recall me without being found out."

"Alright, that's perfect, thanks," I said, recalling him, replacing his Poké ball, unlocking the stall, and setting off for the Office Division.

It was the second one on the right, easily recognizable for its professional atmosphere and overall look of some sort of business office. Everyone was working, and none were even looking at us. Yet again, I pulled out the ebony ball and released the mutant.

"Yeah, this is good, now get out of here, now," he hissed urgently.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I left the area immediately and ran back toward the fifth hallway. I was about halfway there when the crackle of electricity filled my ears and there was a bout of frantic yelling and, soon enough, pandemonium ensued.

Office Rockets ran into the commons shouting, Executives rushed over while barking out orders, uninvolved Rockets started panicking… Just before I got to the Experiment Regulation Center, the door nearly flew off its hinges as the scientists and workers burst out yelling various things, and I caught the words "Number nine, back?!" before they dashed off.

Attempting to keep from being trampled while stifling a laugh, I wondered if this was what it had been like in the commons when I had first been discovered. Working as quickly as possible, I flipped open my Rocket Communicator, quickly scanned the message Stalker had sent me so long ago, found the code, and hurriedly typed it before slipping unnoticed into the chamber.

It was much larger than I had guessed, and was literally lined in computerized machines and the like. The main computer, and therefore the database, lay on the left wall, shut off, unfortunately, and I didn't dare risk the same scenario as last time. Instead, I focused my attention on the devices organized mainly along the back wall, and most importantly, what sat in one of them.

"Mewtwo!" I exclaimed.

The pale violet, humanoid experiment sat cross-legged in a circle of some sort, various wires attached to him. His long, almost rubbery tail draped limply off the side, and his paws hung stationary in his lap. The cat-like head rose slightly when I called his name, and his brilliantly dark purple eyes opened with faint recognition.

(You, it's you from before…why have you come…?) he asked weakly, his mental voice resounding within my mind.

"I wanted to know what was going on, and what they were doing with you, and I don't have much time," I rapidly explained.

He looked slightly taken aback at my question, but nodded solemnly and answered, (I don't know what they did, but I feel I can scarcely move. It's almost as if I'm completely at their mercy. Yet from what I feel…I had such incredible strength before. I feel as though I should be superior to them, but I don't know why.)

"You're right," I replied. "Pokémon and humans each have their strengths and weaknesses, but the Legendaries are pretty much the strongest things on earth. Since you were cloned from Mew, you gained those ancient powers."

(Legendaries…there is much talk of that. If the Legendaries are so superior, then why do the humans speak of them as though they are nothing but pawns…pieces of a plan that must be obtained? These so-called Legendary Pokémon are in danger, that much is certain.)

I nodded. "I suppose that's just the way it is…humans have controlled animals since forever, then Pokémon came next a thousand years ago or so, and now the Legendaries, but…" My voice faltered, and I added to myself, "They're crazy if they honestly think they can control all of the Legendaries." But then…they already had gained control over Mewtwo and—

"Holy crap, this is it, isn't it?!" I said suddenly, interrupting my own thoughts. "This is 'the room' they were all so scared about…this is where all the others lost every shred of reality… But that didn't happen to you, right? I mean, you can still think and talk, so—"

(They spoke of that; they said that the will of such powerful creatures could never truly be broken, yet my body, indeed, is almost completely under their control. And in battle, the power they wield…)—he trailed off, and despite his little strength, I could see his paws clenched into fists—(I am nothing but a slave to them…they think they can use _my_ power?)

"Look, if there's one thing I know, it's don't give up your hope, cause from what I've heard…when in a situation like this, hope is all you really have. But there won't be any left for any of us if the Rockets end up controlling the Legendaries. I need you to tell me which one is next, who are they targeting now, when is it planned?"

He lowered his head slightly and closed his eyes, concentrating hard. (Next week, maybe sooner, although everything has already been prepared. I don't know what they are trying to do, though, but I think it involves me.)

"Great, thanks…and don't worry, somehow, either I or one of my teammates will get you out of this," I promised.

Mewtwo let his mouth form a slight grin, and though it looked slightly forced, it was fitting just the same in a way. I turned and exited the room before sprinting through the scrambled Rockets in the commons toward where most of the commotion was. By now, it seemed like every Pokémon training Rocket in the whole base had a slew of monsters out trying to capture the lone experiment on the run.

There had to be some section where there wouldn't be that many people, some area that no one worked in… I sprinted to the directory and frantically looked over the entire thing. The storage area—that would work! I charged back into the crowd and though the Office Division, where several of the walls were already charred black and sizzling from the heat of Chibi's attack. Pushing to get around several people, I saw the main line where various Pokémon were charging through hallways trying to capture Chibi without completely demolishing the building.

Using the first idea that came to mind, I said loudly, "Just make sure it doesn't get into the storage area, cause we'd never find it there!" and then retreated back into the mass.

He most definitely had to have heard me because several seconds later, a small, yellow form jumped over the heads of several Rockets, landed right in the middle of everyone, and set off running around legs and feet to get to the storage area, wherever it was. I hadn't paid attention to its location on the directory, but I ran as fast as I could after Chibi, who headed speedily to the second hallway, followed by all the other Rockets and me.

In contrast to the white and brightly lit office area we had just come from, the second hallway was drab, gray, and mostly concrete and rusted metal with passages branching off into areas filled with boxes, crates, machinery, and various other things. I saw Chibi dart down the left corridor, and I followed, glancing into the storage chambers as I went, but figuring he wouldn't be out in the open like that.

"Jade," I heard him whisper.

I spun around, trying to find the location of the voice.

"Did you hear that?" someone questioned. I turned around to see that a guy in his late teens was the one who had said it.

"Do you know Pokéspeech?" I asked.

"Yeah, it sounded like a Pokémon saying 'Jade.'" he said.

"Hey, isn't that the name of that girl who stole the experiments and helped crash that plane?" I asked with mock curiosity, hoping to throw him off.

"Hey, hey yeah, that's her, holy shit, there must be rebels here trying to screw with our mission!" he exclaimed before running off to most likely report his theory to the first Executive he could find.

No one else was there, but there was a Rocket coming down this way, so I ducked inside the area and around the boxes, where I saw Chibi hiding in a space between two crates. I frantically recalled him into his Poké Ball and hoped to get out of that area and out of the base as soon as possible, but then something occurred to me. Now that the Rockets knew "I" was here, they'd be on the lookout for rebels, and just like before, the exits would be closed and the base on high alert. Man, what was I thinking?! My stupid idea to throw suspicion off myself had only made things worse.

Upon arriving in the commons, I ran into what ultimately was a mixed blessing. Mainly, I saw Astra standing on top of several chairs talking through a megaphone. I turned away so she wouldn't see me and listened to what she was saying.

"Listen up and don't panic! We believe the base has come under attack by several rebels, and if we give them time to figure out what we're doing and counter it, then we're done for. Operation L:005 starts now, Main Operation members taking part, to your places. Executives, contact the rest of Combat Unit number 03. Everything should be in order regardless of everyone being early, and guards, don't let _anyone_ out of this base without special permission. Let's do this!"

She jumped down and immediately, the Rockets started stirring and heading for the…eighth hallway. I had no idea what that was, and couldn't go check, seeing as I was being led there anyway by the crowd and I knew that I had to find a way to sneak into Operation: L005. My face fell when I saw that right at the entrance to the last hallway, guards were checking the ID of everyone. They would know Iwasn't supposed to be on the mission.

Now panicking, I knew that my only option was to find some other way into the eighth hallway. I searched frantically until I found a chair and then stood on it to see where the other Rockets were going. It looked to be a rather dark and wide area, and I sprinted back to the directory to see what it was.

The Transportation Division…seeing as there were only eight hallways, I knew what it had to be—the hangar that Tyson had taken me into when I was captured way back when. I racked my brain for any possible way to get into it other than the main hallway entrance and the vehicle runway of course, which was outside and most definitely closed up. I knew I had to be running out of time, but it was right then that I remembered. There had been an office in the hangar. Tyson had gone into it to brief his overseer of the mission.

Running as fast as I possibly could, I dashed back toward the Office Division, where Chibi had certainly caused a lot of damage. Already Rockets were working on knocking down the twisted and blackened walls, and I walked casually past them. I managed to find a list of all the offices and rapidly scanned it, looking for some hint. Main Operation Regulations and Documenting—that had to be it because nothing else seemed even close. It was number 024, so I rounded a corner and looked over the room numbers until I found it. Knowing I wouldn't have much time until I would be seen, I grabbed my Communicator and searched over the long list of

codes until I found the right one, opened the door, strode through the office without even looking at it, and opened the back door, which locked from the inside.

I stared as I felt waves of déjà vu rise in the back of my head; it was the first glimpse I had ever gotten of the main Team Rocket base, and now I was here again. This time, however, instead of the transport jet, there were trucks, lots of them: pickups, semis, vans…and almost all of them were equipped with all sorts of machinery. It seemed as though everything was already loaded, and as Mewtwo had said, although the mission was to take place in a week, the whole thing was prepared.

With a glance at the hallway opening, I saw that they still weren't done checking over all the Rockets, mainly because they had to do it one at a time to make sure no rebels got through. Trying to avoid being spotted, I walked slowly along the wall toward a semi truck that still had the back open and no Rockets by it. Figuring that it would be one of my only chances to sneak onto one of the Rockets' vehicles, I quickly sauntered over inconspicuously and climbed into the spacious back area.

An enormous machine, mainly a twisted hunk of wires and parts, filled most of the space, however at a closer look, the entire structure looked very solid, and more like it was meant to be together. The main base part connected to a series of joints where it probably could move, and the entire top part jutted out in a pointed and rather streamlined fashion. Overall, it was obvious that it was a weapon.

Still, there was enough room in the back for me to kneel down out of sight. As soon as I got situated, I pulled out my Rocket Communicator and called Stalker immediately. The screen glowed as it waited for him to answer, and then finally, his face appeared on the screen.

"Jade?" he asked. He leaned over slightly as though trying to see what was behind me through his own screen. "Where are you?"

"The Rocket base, yeah, I'm on an unauthorized mission, but it's important, and Team Rocket's going after another Legendary!" I explained without pausing at all.

"They are? Which one?" he said, concerned.

"I don't know, but because I caused a bit of a stir with them so I could talk to Mewtwo, they're going through with it _now_, and it's big, it's bigger than the Raikou one because only certain Rockets have been chosen, and it's been way secret."

"Damn, I should've known about this…I'll call any other infiltration members in that base and see if they haven't already heard about it and snuck on. We'll need everyone we can get working from the inside. As soon as I can, I'll have any members of the active force that can fly over get there first, and then the others who seem most capable with follow on my Pokémon. And is that a machine behind you?"

"Huh, oh, yeah," I said, moving out of the way of the screen so he could see.

He nodded. "Sabotage it. It's one of the new prototype stun machines. Paralyzes, saps energy, _and_ induces incredible pain to the target. We can't let them use that on a Legendary, and depending on which one it is, they'll have a specific strategy to counter it, like they did with Raikou and the Thunder Field." The screen returned to the main menu as he turned off his Communicator.

I replaced it in my pocket and looked up to see a Rocket glancing along the stun ray, giving it a quick inspection before pulling the back hatch shut and locking it.

A pitch-black veil of darkness enveloped the inside of the truck, and while I wasn't exactly afraid of the dark, who _isn't_ uneasy being completely unable to see? I soon arrived at a solution, however, and pulled out all three of my Poke balls to release Firestorm, Swift, and Chibi. The light bursts temporarily lit up the surrounding, but as soon as the ruby flame lizard formed, the ember tipping his tail illuminated the inside of the truck, flickering and dancing across the metal in a constantly wavering orange glow.

"What the—where are we?" Firestorm asked instantly.

Not really looking up, Swift replied, "Somewhere Team Rocket related,"

"How'd you know?" I asked.

"Deduction," the beige hawk muttered cryptically, raising his wings in a sort of shrug to let the matter drop.

"Okay…anyways, we're in the back of a Team Rocket truck. I originally intended to just go on a mission to find out some things and talk to Mewtwo, but now we're caught in the middle of having to prevent Legendary capture as well. This machine sounds like serious bad news, so we need to screw with it as much as we can. Let's get to work."

_Much_ easier said than done. That thing was like solid rock—no more because we probably would have been able to deal with just rock. Firestorm tried breathing flames at it, but there was no effect whatsoever, not even any glowing to show that the metal was hot. Chibi unleashed his most powerful lightning assault at it, but had to stop within seconds or he wouldn't have enough power left for the likely battles when we got there. And Swift, who actually came up with the most practical plan of all, tried striking the wires with a Wing Attack. Firestorm nearly broke his claws on simply the thin power cables running between its sections, and I concluded that it had to be coated in something extremely hard, perhaps diamond, although I had a sickening feeling that it was Rapidash hoof. Those fire horses' hooves were pretty much the hardest substance known to man.

We had been in there for about an hour before I felt the vehicle slow down, and we had only succeeded in melting/slicing through one wire. One. What on earth was that thing designed to withstand, cause whatever it was, it had to know nearly every element of attack there was.

I heard the lock to the hatch click, and I recalled the three Pokémon and ducked behind the mechanism before the back swung open.

"C'mon, we don't have much time, I need the team assigned to this L.A.R. to move it," a Rocket said, walking off. Knowing I only had one shot or I'd get caught, I climbed around the ray, jumped down from the back of the semi truck, and rushed off to blend in with several other Rockets who actually belonged on this mission. Unlike last time, we weren't in a clearing, and when I looked around, all of the Rockets' cars formed a circle and were hidden alongside trees. Why would they need to do that?

Antennas shot up from most of the pickups. Vans unloaded more members and revealed rays and other weapons along their top. The semis unloaded the heavy artillery, the L.A.R.s as they apparently were called, and now seeing them from a distance, they were very similar to what they had used to stun Raikou with. Seeing as the Legendary control technology had been invented way back when I rescued Chibi, the whole entire Technology division had to have been working on the L.A.R.s for the past month and a half.

The last two semis, however, held equally dangerous things…

From the first, Mewtwo walked out, his eyes glowing with a dull, dangerous blue. I knew the Rockets were currently controlling him, but it was only then that it suddenly hit me. Mewtwo was how they were going to capture the target Legendary; the L.A.R.s would be for immobilization, but the heavy damage would be from Mewtwo.

I gazed past the tall, gray-white, cat-like creature and laid eyes upon the second, which was what truly surprised me. An immense, shaggy auburn beast stepped heavily out from the second truck, its eyes glowing with a similar mindlessness, hiding the frantic mind trapped, unable to do a thing. Its fearsome face was covered from above its eyes with a pointed yellow crest, the sides dominated by a crimson star shape, and its short snout thrusted downward in two cobalt, almost fang-like shapes. But from its head flowed a thick, unruly mane, covering the chest of its noble, leonine body. Immense, padded blue paws struck the dirt, and its almost cloud-like tail billowed majestically despite the lack of wind.

Entei. Here? Wasn't Entei owned by the Johto Force? The Kanto Force must have borrowed it to use for this mission, and it soon was apparent to me that there was no way we could keep them from catching…whatever Legendary they were going for.

But why all this overkill for just one Legendary?

I scanned each Rocket's face, but saw no one from The Rebellion that I knew, mainly because the only members I was acquainted with were on the active force. Then again, more members would be showing up soon, and that was a good thing.

At that thought, I immediately remembered that I was supposed to call Stalker and retrieved my Communicator like lightning, entering his number like before.

"Hey, we're here, but I don't really know where here is," I said as soon as he picked up.

"If you can see anything above the trees, look if there are any mountains," he instructed.

I glanced quickly around, but seeing as there was no clearing, it made no difference. "I dunno, I can't see anything, the trees are too dense."

"How long was the drive?"

"Around an hour I guess," I said, shrugging.

"Hmm, then you're probably somewhere northeast of Viridian, maybe northwest of Celadon. I'll have everyone fly over that can, along with my Pokémon, and they'll probably be able to find the Rockets from the air, so all four of my flying Pokémon can fly back and bring more of the trainers I'm sending."

It sounded like a good plan, so I said, "Alright, bye," hung up, and watched the Rockets' actions, intrigued. I couldn't do anything, really, until the Rockets started focusing their attention on the Legendary. Then I'd be able to either sabotage something or meet up with the arriving Rebellion members and openly fight.

Entei was led out somewhere in the middle of the circle, while Mewtwo remained back by one of the L.A.R.s. The handlers had one last small discussion before running back to their positions, leaving Entei in the middle.

"Everyone to their places, guards and regulators on Mewtwo and all the weapons. We start now!" an Executive shouted.

I felt my heart thundering in my chest in anticipation, but there was hardly any reaction to the loud cry of commencement. The Rockets crouched back in their hiding places, and I stayed near off to the side again and behind a tree so that no one would know I wasn't supposed to be there. The main Legendary handler then pushed several buttons upon a large device he was holding and grinned malevolently.

Entei's eyes radiated once more with the indifferent glow before it let out a roar, a roar so high-pitched and eerie that it resounded throughout the atmosphere, yet seemed to be barely audible at the same time. The call echoed in my ears, and it was strange in that it wasn't true Pokéspeech, and yet I felt the meaning grasp my mind in a deeper sense…like the deeper sense that makes true learning of Pokéspeech possible.

"Cousins! I call out to you, the three Titans of the Elements, I have escaped from the humans, but they seek to imprison me once more. I am in need of your aid!"

So, that was it…they were using Entei because Legendaries could specifically contact each other so that only the targets, and any others in the area, obviously, would hear the message.

They were going after _all three_ Legendary Birds.

That was why they had two super Pokémon and a slew of L.A.R.s with them.

But if all three attacked together, there could be some hope…perhaps the Rockets were in over their head?

An eerie calm swept over the surrounding. Distant sounds pricked at my ears…a small crackling, the whooshing of wind, and a strange popping…steadily growing louder…

They were here.

Three impossibly immense birds soared into view, their overbearing impression of raw power unnerving even some of the Rockets. All three of them were just so incredible, so majestic, it seemed near ridiculous that if we didn't do something soon, they would be nothing but slaves.

The first bird, an extraordinary phoenix spiraled down in a tight circle, turning the very air into a swirling inferno of scorching heat with its presence. Flaming orange colored plumage covered its lean, streamlined body, and crimson flame erupted from the feathers upon its head, wings, and tail. Each flap of its mighty wings made the sky scarily bright with a scarlet glow and scattered hundreds of trailing embers in the creature's wake.

…Moltres, the Legendary Kanto Bird of Fire…

In stark contrast, the second was more graceful and less aggressive-looking, however I knew that was merely its appearance, and it seemed that just a simple flap of its long, narrow wings stirred an arctic storm and sent the thermometer plunging. The falcon's azure down was fluffier, turning into a sort of snowy mane around its chest. Its beak and talons were an icy shade of gray, and three pointed cobalt crests curved back from the top of its head. Most striking, however, was its tail, a wonderful swirling of three extremely flexible feathers, flapping about in a frenzy.

…Articuno, the Legendary Kanto Bird of Ice…

And finally, the last, soaring high on short, broad wings and huge pointed feathers that looked as sharp as blades. Its head and neck were almost heron-like with its long, orange, pointed beak, however the feathers upon its head were thrusted back in stiff spikes, similar to the ones dominating its wings and tail. Midnight black plumes alternated with the yellow on its wings and tail, and its entire body sounded of the cracking of static electricity.

…Zapdos, the Legendary Kanto Bird of Lightning…

All three of the awe-inspiring, winged legends soared around the volcano beast on the ground like vultures before spiraling down to touch their talons onto the dirt. They gazed at Entei, intrigued.

Entei's eyes stopped glowing and returned to the normal roan shade. And yet still, there was something about them…somehow, I could sense the pain and sorrow behind them

"Cousin Entei, it is good to see you again," the lightning bird said, sending a commanding and echoing, yet young-sounding male voice reverberating through the trees. "But how have you escaped? My sisters and I feared for the worst after the legends came under repeated capture in both Johto and Hoenn. …And why have you not called for your sister, Suicune?"

I noticed the blazing phoenix glancing back and forth, not seeing the Rockets, but letting her bright sapphire eyes scan the surrounding cautiously, as though expecting something.

But over by another L.A.R., I could see Mewtwo, tail twitching ever so slightly. His eyes closed slowly and scrunched up, as though he was trying to concentrate the hardest he ever had.

The trap was set. I could see the three birds eyeing Entei when it didn't respond. All the Rockets had commanded it to do was simply to say what it had earlier. L.A.R.s charged noiselessly. Moltres grew more unnerved.

(Get out of here, now, it's a trap!!!) Mewtwo commanded suddenly, breaking free from the control just enough to shout. His body sparked in pain as the Rockets slammed a button that waves of power surging through him. Moltres shot into the air immediately. L.A.R.s fired!

Beams of yellow shot out from all around, encircling the birds in an impenetrable web of energy. The other two Legendaries took to the air immediately just as Entei let loose a massive fireball from all over its body. Flame surged through the trees, incinerating everything, yet stopping before coming to the Rockets and the L.A.R.s. The battle was now in full view, and the vehicles and the Rockets operating them were in plain sight.

Moltres let out a high roar of a screech and surrounded her entire body with a living flame before crashing headlong into the barrier that encircled the four Pokémon. There were too many L.A.R.s; the machines could easily absorb the power, however immense.

Mewtwo stiffened up, eyes blazing with energy suddenly before surging forward in the air, his body enveloped with a raging blue flame.

"That's right, show them no mercy. You do as _we_ command," the Rocket controlling Mewtwo muttered. My eyes widened involuntarily. I knew that voice, and I knew that the lead experiment handler was none other than Tyson.

More explosions—Zapdos attempted to aim for the Rockets and the nearest mechanism and struck it with his ridiculously high voltage. The ray sparked, absorbing the energy and channeling some of it to the others until finally, it sent back a beam that struck the bright yellow bird of prey right in the lower stomach. He recoiled back, wincing in pain at the same time as Articuno was struck by Mewtwo's energy flame.

I felt horrible…all three of these fantastic legends would be captured, and here I was completely unable to do anything whatsoever. There was no way…the birds were doomed.

A stream of white radiation surged towards the L.A.R. barrier! The beam was weak, but it caught the attention of the Rockets, who glanced up immediately to see twenty or so large Pokémon soaring closer constantly. The source of the assault was a tall, shaggy bird with long feathers blowing in the wind and a crown of red spikes atop both its head and the base of its long, pointed beak. It was none other than Ryan's Fearow.

The Rebellion was here!

Several of the Rockets swore profoundly at the new threat, but many remained cool and confident in that if even the Legendaries couldn't handle the L.A.R.s, that there wasn't much a bunch of kids could do.

But then suddenly, Stalker's Charizard bolted forward in a flash and unleashed an inferno upon the closest Rockets, who had pulled out their guns and already had begun to take aim. The blast hit and entirely enveloped them, burning them alive. I turned away almost instinctively and tried to block out the Rockets' final frantic screams and the panicked shouting of the other onlookers. Charizard showed little remorse as he soared lower above what were now only piles of smoldering ash and gave a look of pure challenge to the rest of the Rockets standing nearby. The sickening stench of charred flesh filled the air, and I could see that the young trainers riding the fiery dragon had their eyes wide in horror.

All of Stalker's Pokémon landed and allowed their passengers to dismount before taking off for Midnight Island to bring more members. I ran over to the crowd of trainers, releasing my three Pokémon from their Poke balls as I went.

"Ryan!" I shouted, figuring he had to have some sort of plan since he was the leader of the active branch. "We all need to find a way to overload those machines, they're called L.A.R.s. They can absorb energy, which is why the three birds can't break out."

"Stronger than the Thunder Field, huh…" he muttered, running a hand through his dark brown hair. He turned toward everyone and spoke louder. "If they absorb energy and all hook together, then to overload them, we'd just need to lead separate attacks on all of them at the same time as the Legendary birds. That's our best bet. Just, if you honestly don't think you can help, then at least try not to get shot."

Everyone nodded.

"I can keep us shielded from bullets with a force field for a little while, but it looks like we have to act now," Chibi stated, glancing back that the raging battle in the midst of the L.A.R.s. With a glance up at the sky, however, he added, "Hey, look."

A chocolate brown and dusty bellied eagle streaked forward with the long scarlet and golden plumes upon its head streaming in the wind. Unsurprisingly, the rider mounted atop it was the tall, teenaged, light-brown haired trainer, Spencer. The air ruffled his jeans and his gray t-shirt as the bird Pokémon descended quickly and allowed its rider to disembark.

"Stalker called and said you guys would probably need help," Spencer explained upon arriving. "It's major, he's getting everyone down here, so I've brought even more reinforcements…"

Just a few seconds afterward, three Pokémon darted through the trees—two sprinting along the ground, and the third hovering above them.

It couldn't be…they were back?

Sure enough, the first and fastest was a tall, erect, emerald green-armored praying mantis, running unbelievably fast on thick, clawed legs, his blade-lined arms slicing the air continuously. Keen, focused rust-colored eyes peered out from under the ridges of bone that thrust out from his sleek head, vaguely reptilian in appearance.

Without even looking, I knew the second. It was a large, snowy-white, wolfish creature with the facial features of a cat and an almost helmet-like white shape on the right of her head that curved with the ebony blade along the left to make the yin yang symbol. Dense obsidian claws struck the ground repeatedly as she ran, and the mane upon her chest streamed with the breeze.

And of course, the third was a dragon…a long, verdant, streamlined dragon with small, clawed forelegs, large, rounded hind legs, and red-lined, diamond-shaped wings that looked to the fins at the end of his tail.

"Long time, no see, eh Jade?" Razors remarked, letting a slight grin form on his short snout.

"Razors? Stygian, Aros, what are you three doing here?" I asked.

"Let's just leave it at…Stalker told me how to get in touch with them," Spencer said with a slight grin. "Even after they escaped, he figured they'd be useful to The Rebellion."

Chibi stepped forward, staring. "Razors…?" he said slowly in disbelief.

"Hey…" the Scyther said with a solemn nod, raising a scythe barely.

Eyes still widened, Chibi finally gave a small smile. It was odd, slightly like Mewtwo's—as though it was forced, but still fitting. And I still found Razors's personality surprising almost, after all that had happened in the plane incident. But, that _was_ outside of his control…and as fellow experiments, Razors and Chibi were obviously as close as brothers.

"No time for reunions, we need to focus," Stygian said bluntly.

"Yeah…she's right," Chibi suggested, quickly coming out of his stupor. "We can each lead an attack on separate groups of Rockets. Firestorm and Swift can come with me, Stygian and Razors, you deal with the Rockets attacking the rebels, Jade, you ride with Aros for an aerial approach along with Spencer on his Pidgeot. Plus, some of his other Pokémon can help us out as well," Chibi directed.

"Wait, wait, _what_?" a disgruntled Aros said. "For one, who put you in charge, pipsqueak, and another, no human is riding on _my_ back."

"Pipsqueak?" Chibi's eyes slowly narrowed as his expression rapidly changed. "You want to challenge me, dragon butt?" he said, making a "bring-it-on" motion with his hands.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!!!!!" Razors shouted, waving his scythes in the air. "And you…" he said, turning toward Aros, "Chibi'd know better than any of us what to do in a situation like this, and in any case, you'd do well to have some human intuition with you in a time like this."

Aros nodded reluctantly, spread his thin, pointed wings, and leaned forward for me to mount. I felt kind of awkward because he obviously had a rather negative view of humans, but nonetheless, we needed to do whatever we could. But first…we were now openly fighting Team Rocket, and pretending to be one of them was unnecessary. I slipped the uniform off of my clothes, stuck it in a plastic bag, and tied the bag to my right belt loop.

"Alright, The Rebellion members have already started. Just make sure no one gets shot, and let's do this. Those Rockets are going down," Chibi said. I opened my two Poké Balls to release a very confused Firestorm and Swift, who followed Chibi while he explained the situation to them. Razors and Stygian darted off in another direction. Spencer released his other four Pokémon: the icy white seal, Dewgong; the powerful, striped firedog, Arcanine; the black, fur-caped wolf, Mightyena; and the tall, cream-colored, flame-necked beast, Typhlosion.

"Alright, you guys, go with the other Rebellion members and make sure they don't get hurt, and be ready to make a lot of ice shields, Dewgong," Spencer instructed before taking to the sky on his Pidgeot, soon followed by Aros and me.

The aerial view of the Legendary battle was even more horrific. Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres were reluctant to harm their fellow Legendaries, which left them in a sort of game of cat and mouse—or rather, cats and birds—with nowhere to fly. Zapdos let sparks cover his body and dove downward to ram into Entei in an attempt to paralyze it. Lightning bolts surged as he immobilized the volcano beast, but suddenly Mewtwo knocked him flying into the L.A.R. barrier.

Articuno let out a cry and flapped her wings furiously, stirring up a flurry of snow and ice in the air. Crystals formed on Mewtwo's bony arms, but he silenced the storm and shattered the ice into shards with a wave of power from a single hand. In that instant, Entei fired its back legs and leaped up _onto_ Articuno, breathing out white-hot flames and slashing her wildly. But then, Moltres streaked forward like a bullet and knocked the leonine creature off of the now bloodied falcon. Azure feathers soaked with scarlet, the bird of ice retreated to the side while firing frigid beams of blue energy at her opposition.

"Hellooo, earth to Jade, we've gotta think of a plan," Spencer said, shaking me from my thoughts.

"Er, I don't know, I never expected things to end up so one-sided," I replied, glancing down at the progress of the Rebellion members. Dewgong had surrounded the circle of Rockets and L.A.R.s with a ring of ice so it could move around and was acting as the main protector alongside Chibi. The both of them had created force fields, yellow and blue, respectively, and had encircled the young trainers to keep them from getting shot. Bullets pinged off of shields, and Rockets dropped unconscious from stray lightning bolts and blows from Spencer's Pokémon and the other two experiments. The L.A.R.s, unfortunately, didn't require constant handling to remain running.

I also noticed that Stalker's Pokémon had returned with another group of trainers. We needed all the help we could get.

"With them attacking the Rockets and the L.A.R.s, the only good we can do is attack the energy field itself," Aros commented, focusing his red-lensed eyes at the ground.

It sounded good, but it also seemed like the obvious answer. If the L.A.R.s were built to absorb energy, then when they were overloaded, they had to send it flying back at the source. No one else was attacking from the air because it wouldn't make any progress. There had to be another way…

"No…no, I don't think that'll work," I said.

Spencer nodded and added, "Prob'ly would just fry us like it did Zapdos when I first flew in."

"But—" Aros was about to protest.

"Hey, like Razors said, we're human, you're a Pokémon. We may suck, but we've got our strengths, now let's dive down," I said, nudging him lightly with my legs. The dragon and the eagle soared around the force field and down through the trees into the midst of the conflict between the Rockets and the rebels. We flew far too fast for the remaining Rockets to react and finally landed alongside an unmanned L.A.R.

"Oh, no you don't!" I heard a voice yell. I pivoted around and saw Astra atop her mighty Arcanine. The fluffy orange canine sprinted forward on huge, padded paws, ready to strike.

A blur of green to the left! Impossibly fast, an emerald streak flew up and smacked her on the side of the face. She jerked hard after being hit with the flat of Razors's blade and was knocked off the back of the firedog. Astra fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Typhlosion, c'mere!" Spencer yelled to the beige fire beast, which was nearby.

After seeing the three Pokémon lined up against it, the Arcanine snarled in surrender. It then nudged its nose under its trainer and rolled her limp body onto its back before racing off through the trees.

Razors leaned against his right scythe, wings limp and panting hard after flying at what was probably the fastest he had ever flown.

"Razors, I'm sorry, but we need you to go tell all of the other Pokémon that we all need to attack the all of the L.A.R.s themselves directly at the same time," I said.

Understanding the urgency of the situation, he nodded wordlessly and raced off.

"Typhlosion, get over to that one over there!" Spencer commanded, pointing at the very last L.A.R. not surrounded by Rockets or trainers. "Let's do this, Pidgeot, Hyper Beam, Typhlosion, Fire Blast!"

At once, the two opened their mouths wide and fired out their most powerful attacks, striking the midnight-black machines with the rush of energy while Aros breathed out a lick of powerful, cerulean dragon flames. In the distance, I could hear the commands of all the Rebels and the cries of their Pokémon.

"Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, unleash all of your energy at the barrier from all over!" Chibi cried, his voice weak from having had to sustain his lightning force field of protection for so long.

The immense, yellow, heron-like bird turned his spiky head to gaze curiously upon his genetic heir, which may have been vastly different, as well as weaker than he, but still bore the soul of a Legendary. Zapdos let out a cry and discharged every ounce of lightning within him and let it fly wild into the barrier. Articuno and Moltres did the same, letting loose humongous waves of fire and arctic energy from within themselves. Mewtwo and Entei were knocked back from the force, and the L.A.R.s sparked as they neared the power limit and had nowhere to discharge the excess power. Strands of elemental energy leaped off of the barrier as it intensified, but then rapidly sent shimmering waves into the atmosphere.

Right at that second, Moltres discontinued her assault and flew up into the barrier, crashing into it awkwardly, but letting flames dance across her feathers as she continued to push against it. Finally, the phoenix's streamlined head slipped through the transparent wall.

An impossibly high screech escaped her, and as her call filled the air, the vague meaning behind the words took hold in my mind, just like with Entei.

"I call out to the Legendaries, if any of you hear this, come now, for Articuno, Zapdos, and I have fallen prey to the same ones who have imprisoned the legends before, please, come—"

At once, she cried out and was knocked backward, spiraling limply downward and colliding with the hard ground.

"Moltres!" Zapdos cried, diving toward the ground to fend off the Rockets' opposing Legendaries.

"It didn't work, I can't believe it, it didn't work, they're still trapped," I muttered, staring in disbelief.

But right at that instant, a tiny, yet unbelievably fast figure surged at lightning speed straight into the heart of the L.A.R. barrier. The small, cat-like creature let out a high-pitched cry as its entire body seethed with unbelievable energy. Finally, with a whip of its long, thin tail, the light rose-colored feline slipped through the weakened energy wall and into the battle zone.

Spreading its short arms out to the side, its eyes glowed with a fierce blue radiation as it unleashed a wave of power flying wildly throughout the air. All five Legendaries turned suddenly in surprise.

Mew was here!

* * *

Claimer: **The L.A.R.s are mine.** The name, the appearance, the modes, the energy channeling, the entire concept. I also own the special long-range Legendary communication. 


	14. Extreme Electric Excitement

**Chapter 13: Extreme Electric Excitement**

Mew, I couldn't believe it, it was really Mew. Sightings of the other Legendaries happened occasionally, but Mew…it was like the rarest thing on earth… Mewtwo and Entei stood to their feet, looking hardly fazed by the attack, but when Mew hovered alongside the three Legendary birds, I knew the tables had suddenly turned immensely in our favor.

"That's it, open fire!"

"Jade, look out!"

Chibi leaped in front of us and sparked insanely to produce a lighting barrier right at the second as a camouflaged jeep sped out into the clearing, its passengers all firing at us. I cringed instinctively, but then saw that all of the bullets were blocked by the force field.

"I can't keep this up, you guys, I'm literally at the end of my power supply. Get out of here, now!" Chibi shouted, dropping to his knees in pain. The back end of the electric bubble opened slightly for us to leave.

"Come on, Jade!" Spencer yelled, quickly mounting his Pidgeot. I frantically leaped back onto Aros's back, and we took off zooming along the ground at high speed. I could see Spencer's Dewgong in the distance as we sped around the L.A.R. circle, and it was tiring out just like Chibi was.

"What are we gonna do? Our Pokémon are all worn out and the Rockets brought reinforcements," I said worriedly as a crowd of the Rockets' newly released Pokémon charged at the rebels' Pokémon.

"We've got more Rebellion members coming, but then again, that only means more targets for the Rockets," Spencer added grimly.

"We'll have to leave it up to Mew then, cause there's nothing else—" I froze. An icy gale suddenly broke over the area, and a distant, unearthly howl reverberated throughout the trees. "Holy crap…that's—that's Suicune!" I exclaimed.

"Suicune, what in the—how do you know?!" Spencer yelled over the roar of the wind in both our ears.

"I saw her on Midnight Island once, and she sounded like that. She must have heard Moltres's call!" I explained, wondering to myself why Suicune seemed to always be in Kanto if she was a Johto Beast.

"What is this, a Legendary palooza?!" Spencer asked.

I snickered slightly, but tried to remain serious. I glanced back at the battle in the midst of the L.A.R.s and saw that while Mew had initially been surprised to see Mewtwo, it now had formed energy bubbles around the three birds. It let loose a wave of intense power, knocking Mewtwo and Entei into the overloaded force fields around them.

(I knew something was wrong when Entei called only for the Three Titans, and from Kanto, no less, but I knew not whether to interfere until Moltres cried out,) Mew said, speaking mentally for all to hear in a soft, yet powerful feminine voice, like most of the female Legendaries. She turned to the Rockets, who had regrouped in an attempt to counter the mountain of resistance they were facing. (So…you wish to challenge the power of the Legends? Then you shall face what comes with it,) she said solemnly.

Right that second, an immense, wolfish, cobalt cheetah burst through the trees, snarling as she raced through the crowd of Rockets, scattering gunmen and knocking several trucks over with a loud crash. One of the Rockets turned his gun on her, fired, and hit her on the shoulder. Suicune howled with pain as scarlet blood began to soak her azure coat, but then she knocked the rest of the Rockets back with a wave of blue energy. She stopped suddenly, and I could see a trickle of water running from the sea-green crystal on her head and healing the wound with a faint glow.

With a loud call like the howling of the wind, Suicune fired her back legs and lunged at the L.A.R. barrier, shooting out a beam of blue, radiating bubbles. Finally, she crashed through and landed in the fray on the other side.

But the effects of our combined attack were taking their toll. Glowing tendrils of energy flailed about within the yellow force field, and despite the fact that Mewtwo and Entei were hopelessly outnumbered, the opposing Legendaries were wearing out, and the three birds could hardly fly.

"It's weak, we might be able to shut it off if we attack together again," Spencer commented as we watched the transpiring events from our aerial Pokémon.

I nodded absentmindedly, but was really concentrating on something else entirely. With all of ours and the rebels' Pokémon concentrating their efforts on the newly arrived backup Rockets, the Rockets handling the Legendary control were free to continue running the battle. The L.A.R.s didn't require constant maintenance, but the control over the two Legendaries did.

"Spencer, I've got an idea, but I need you and everyone else to make sure Team Rocket stays where they are now, I think I can free Mewtwo and Entei," I said.

"Sure thing, but what if you get caught?" he asked.

Thinking quickly, I reached into my pockets and pulled out all three of my Poké Balls along with my Communicator. "I can't afford to let them take my Pokémon or figure out who I am, so just in case, hold onto these for now, okay?" I tossed them to him and nudged Aros back in the other direction. He folded his wings back and we streaked back toward the main van.

"Alright Aros, you know your moves better than me, got any good ones for stunning?" I asked.

"Yep, you just leave the Rockets to me," he said, grinning very slightly.

The wind whipped my hair back as we flew, and as we neared the Legendary control center, a curious aura began to surround us. I could feel an odd prickling on the back of my neck as a glowing black fog encircled us. Then, in less than a second, we were right in front of the two Rockets, and Aros surged forward to ram them into the metal wall of the back of the van. The aura subsided, and Aros touched down with his rounded hind legs.

"What was that?" I asked, impressed.

"Faint Attack," he said smugly. "One of my personal favorites."

I dismounted the green dragon and checked to make sure the two Rockets, one of which was Tyson, were really knocked out. I then turned to look at the control panel with a frustrated groan. Buttons—endless rows of glowing buttons mixed with various switches. Honestly, why did everything in Team Rocket have to be so complicated?

"Like it couldn't have been simpler…" I muttered under my breath, starting to look over the labels for some sign of what to do. "You have any idea what these do?" I asked Aros.

"Are you kidding?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Then with an odd laugh, he added, "Isn't this supposed to be the thing you humans are better at?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I retorted.

"Nothing, just saying you think like a Pokémon, and that isn't necessarily a good thing."

Trying to ignore the Flygon's comments, I turned and continued to analyze the ridiculously complex controls. "Maybe…there's an off switch or something…?" I mumbled to myself.

"Yeah, and while we're at, let's look for an off switch on the L.A.R.s," Aros replied sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes. "Not helping."

"Alright then, he said simply, turning toward a thick bundle of cords and wires. I had ignored them since there was obviously no way to unplug them, but Aros drew back his right forearm and slashed with faintly glowing claws. The cables sparked as they were severed, and the entire back of the van went dark as the lights and controls died.

"You think too much," he stated with a quiet snicker.

"Hey, who was the one who just said—" I stopped as I heard the spinning of tires getting closer. I jumped out of the back of the vehicle to see two of the jeeps zooming toward us at high speed. "Crap, we gotta get outta here, now!"

Aros shot out of the back area in a flash, slowing just enough to let me jump onto his back. We both flew off around the ring of L.A.R.s with the sounds of shouting and scattered gunfire in the distance.

"Mewtwo and Entei!" I said suddenly to myself, turning to look at the two Legendary Pokémon. Both of them stood stiffly, enveloped by raging flames of blue and red energy. As I watched, the twin blazes slowly died down, and the two creatures fell limply to the ground.

The three Legendary birds and lone Legendary beast looked up with intrigue as Mew cautiously floated near the Rockets' two fallen battlers. The pale rose cat-beast gazed upon her genetic heir with an odd expression of faint pity before turning to Suicune.

(Our work here is done…come, Suicune,) Mew instructed. And the two of them, still surrounded by their protective energy shields, rammed into the L.A.R. force field with an immensely bright glow.

"There, they're escaping!" a Rocket yelled.

I turned toward the other end of the barrier to see the Rocket forces regrouping after having to counter all of the Rebellion members along with Stygian, Razors, and my Pokémon. Overpowered, the rebel forces backed off slightly, giving the Rockets the chance they needed. In an instant, the entire barrier deactivated, Mewtwo and Entei were recalled into twin beams of red light, and the other five Legendaries inside were left unrestrained.

"What? Why did they do that?" I muttered incredulously.

"Now! We only have one shot!" someone ordered.

Purple Poké Balls flew threw the air, and the reaction was instantaneous.

Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno shot into the air in terror, weakened to the point that they had to strain their wings just to stay airborne. Flecks of scarlet blood were scattered throughout the air with each frantic flap.

Of course…the L.A.R.s had served their purpose—the three birds were as weakened as they could get, and now they would be unable to dodge the Rocket's last resort. Master Balls—the same that Raikou had looked on in such fear at when they were thrown at him. If they make contact with any Pokémon, it's caught.

Suicune sprinted out of the way at high speed while letting loose a massive zephyr that swept back around the three birds and knocked back several of the balls. Mew darted forward like a bullet in an attempt to put up a shield around the birds, but—

A sudden beam of red; a Pokémon was being captured! There was a horrifying screech right as the energy was sucked into the ball, which fell to the ground, shuddered, and then lay still.

I frantically looked over the Legendaries: Mew, Suicune, Zapdos, Articuno…Moltres, there was no Moltres…Moltres was caught?!

"No, I don't believe it, they did it!" I shouted in disbelief.

Zapdos folded his wings back and dove forward in an attempt to grab the Master Ball that Moltres had been captured in, but then recoiled back when a second group of Rockets hurled more violet spheres at him.

"No!" Articuno yelled.

In a lightning-fast dive, the cobalt falcon crashed headlong into the goldenrod heron, blocking him from the capture devices and sending the two of them spiraling into the ground with a thud. Surging walls of energy encircled the two of them as Mew flew down to defend. But then, a single L.A.R. charged and fired a pulsing yellow beam at the barrier, shattering it with a crash and then striking the three Legendary Pokémon.

"Now, hurry!" the Rocket manning the L.A.R. yelled.

A third and final group of Rockets ran forward with more Master Balls, and this time Articuno was hit—struck on the back by the infallible capture device. Her entire body was transformed into ruby-colored energy, which was then drawn into the ball.

With a loud cry of pain and rage, Zapdos slowly stood to his feet, but when I looked closer, his entire body seethed with energy. Immense lightning bolts collided with the ray, giving Mew a chance to strike back at the Rockets with a wave of pink energy. The Rocket's Pokémon went flying backward into the trees, allowing the Rebellion members, led by Stalker's Pokémon, to press the attack.

Of course—when the L.A.R.s were a barrier, they sapped the Legendaries' energy and trapped them, but now that it was a beam, Zapdos could absorb the electricity, just like Chibi had done so many times.

Strings of electricity surged everywhere as Zapdos took to the sky, letting his Thundershocks rain down upon the Rocket forces. He threw his pointed wings back and dove forward, striking the Master Balls on the ground with apparent hopes of breaking them and freeing Moltres and Articuno. Just as the lightning shattered some of them, the rest suddenly zoomed out of the range of the attack. They were pulled toward a machine on the back of one of the Rockets' trucks through some sort of attraction.

Enraged, the goldenrod bird flew up and let Thunderbolts descend upon the Rockets, enveloping them with incalculable voltage and overloading the power cells in any of the jeeps that didn't have protective force fields. Ball of fire erupted from the vehicles, incinerating anyone nearby and covering the rest with large burns.

(Zapdos, what are you doing?!!!) Mew hissed.

Suicune did not object. The wolfish creature simply stared apathetically at the writhing forms of the Rockets. Her indifference surprised me, as even I had trouble blocking out their screams.

"The fury of the Legendaries is inescapable…" Aros commented under his breath while watching the transpiring events with intrigue. "Any who dare to challenge them must suffer the consequences…"

"What?" I asked curiously. But before he could answer, the air was filled with the loud crashing of lightning against L.A.R.

"Turn all the other Legendary Assault Rays to offense mode!" a Rocket ordered. All of the remaining Rockets sprinted over to the jet-black machines, and in mere seconds, more yellow beams flew through the air. Mew and Suicune surrounded themselves with protective pink and blue bubbles while Zapdos attempted to recharge himself once more.

"We gotta do something, come on, let's dive down and take out one of the Rockets, I've got an idea to stop the L.A.R.s!" I exclaimed as the Rockets ran forward to collect the fallen capture devices.

"We already tried that, but it's not a barrier anymore, so it won't work!" Aros protested.

"Exactly—just trust me," I said, and at that, we dove straight down, enveloped once more by the aura of Faint Attack before disappearing completely and ramming into the Rocket guarding the ray.

"Alright," I said, dismounting the dragon and running forward toward the ray gun. "The only reason they used the barrier before was to trap the birds, but now that two are caught and the defense mode is sabotaged, they're trying to distract the other three so that the Rockets can get the Master Balls on the ground before they do."

"So what can we do?" he asked.

"As a beam, the L.A.R.s can't absorb or channel energy, so they're not protected against really big attacks. We might be able to override the controls and turn them off."

The second I had said that, Aros opened his mouth and fired out a pulsing orange and yellow beam, aiming for the wires connecting the top and bottom parts. At first, it had no effect, but slowly, the incredibly powerful rush of energy penetrated it, making the ray falter slightly and give off sparks around the bottom before shutting down completely.

"Ha," I said, "whatever they coated it with sure couldn't withstand energy based-attacks. I knew these things had to have a flaw."

Turning back to battle, however, I could see that one less L.A.R. didn't exactly make much of a difference. Preoccupied by the Assault Rays, the Legendaries were unable to prevent the Rockets from collecting all of the Master Balls, and now, the many empty ones were being re-thrown at the bird, beast, and cat. Because Zapdos now had an infinite power supply, he created a thunder barrier around all three of them, blocking both ball and ray.

"Get out of here, now! They've made it impossible to rescue my sisters, so the least I can do is get you two out of here!" Zapdos cried, his voice faltering in the pain of taking in all of the rays' energy. Mew and Suicune hesitated, but now that the spheres containing Moltres and Articuno were hidden just like the original ones used to hold Mewtwo and Entei, there was no reason for them to stay there, and with the L.A.R.s on offence mode, there was nothing preventing them form leaving.

Zapdos opened his force field slightly, allowing the cerulean beast and light pink cat to streak off into the trees before running into the transportation semis the Rockets had hidden. While the two of them proceeded to destroy the vehicles, Zapdos turned his attention to the L.A.R.s and the remaining Rockets.

The legendary bird of lightning spread his pointed wings out and, with a cry, doubled his force field in size, causing it to collide with one side of the circle of L.A.R.s, knocking them on their side. With that as his final move, he finally managed to gain altitude.

"Jade!" I head Spencer yell.

I turned suddenly to see him flying high on his Pidgeot with _two_ extra trainers behind him. I could see Pidgeot's wings straining and even glowing slightly with the added strength of the Fly technique. "Jade, I don't know what you've been doing over here, but there's nothing more any of us can do here, and we're evacuating all the trainers, so we're gonna need Aros to fly trainers back to Midnight," he said.

"Okay!" I called back from the ground, and he nodded and took off toward Midnight. But right after I said that, I could hear a Rocket shout, "There, the rebels are escaping!" and I immediately ran to the other side of the L.A.R. to see.

Chibi had obviously pulled the same absorbing trick Zapdos had, because he had an enormous force field between the Rockets and the rebels. Verdegon, Ryan's Fearow, and Razors were currently being boarded to fly back to the base.

Wait a minute…Razors? Sure, Scyther could fly, but their wings weren't exactly strong enough to carry passengers.

Gunshots suddenly filled the air for the millionth time that day, and I spun around to find the source. Instinctively, Aros shot into the air, but then realized that I was still on the ground and swooped low and fast toward me. I ran up to him and tried to jump on behind his wings, but ended up mounting right at the base of his tail. At the sound of whizzing bullets, he darted upwards suddenly—a move that would have thrown me off if I hadn't managed to grab the fan at the end of his tail at the last minute.

"Hey Aros, wait, I'm not all the way on!" I yelled.

"I can't slow down, they'll get us. Just ride it out till I get to the rest of the rebels," he replied, diving forward to soar low along the ground. I clenched my teeth and looked on in horror as bullets rushed past us.

A sudden sharp pain in my arm! I lost my grip and fell to the ground, skidding on my back while grunting in pain and gripping my left arm tightly with my right hand. Scarlet blood seeped through my fingers, and when I moved my hand, I could see a deep gash going across the width of my arm.

Where the bullet had grazed the top of it.

Now panicking again, I grasped it even tighter to hinder the blood flow and block out the pain as I struggled to stand despite the ache that filled every inch of me.

No…it was too late; the Rockets were closing in now. Their Pokémon were fending off the remaining forces of the rebels that hadn't already fled, leaving the rest of the force free to close in. Aros swooped low again, attempting to grab me and get us out of here, but after repeated fire, he retreated slightly with lines of blood along his tail and scattered holes in his wings.

"No! That thing's Experiment Twenty-four, don't kill it!" Tyson shouted at the gunmen. Almost immediately after he said that, beams from stun rays filled the air around the Flygon. Seeing that all opportunity was lost, the streamlined emerald dragon soared off to join in the effort to evacuate the remaining Rebellion members.

"He almost risked his life for me," I mumbled, hearing Tyson shout randomly about Experiments Nine, Ten, and Twenty-five. And then, ignoring the pain, but only attempting to fill my mind with what would happen if I didn't escape, I struggled to my feet, still clutching my bloodied arm.

A sudden bolt flew out of nowhere! With no time even to flinch, the electricity struck and surged through me. Struggling to keep from crying out in agony, I stumbled and fell the ground, feeling as though the lightning were tearing me apart.

"Alright, I'm down!!! You don't need to do anything more to keep me from going anywhere, damn it!!!" I ranted. I was now surrounded by the worn remnants of the Rocket force for Operation L:005, and I could see Astra riding up atop her Arcanine with the Raichu perched upon her shoulder.

Another jolt of pain went through my arm, but it felt more distant this time. I glanced up and the Rockets, now deep in a discussion, but even as I watched, everything seemed to blur. And still, the one thought that kept recurring in my mind was what would have happened if the Rockets had aimed a little lower and to the right…

More sparks—that Raichu just wouldn't stop. But now everything was fading, and the last thing I could see was Astra walking up with a mixed expression of satisfaction and pity on her face.

"Sorry," she said. "We just couldn't have you conscious when we brought you back, now could we?"

---

I opened my eyes slowly, noticing immediately how badly my back hurt. I sat up and stretched, and only then did I notice that I wasn't in the same place I had been before I was knocked unconscious. It was a completely empty room with nothing but two doors—one with a window that I assumed was the entrance and one over to the right—and a small control room of some sort connected to the chamber I was in with a thick pane of glass.

The bag that had been tied to my belt loop was gone, so they obviously had taken my uniform. I widened my eyes suddenly and stuck my hands in my pockets, but found that they hadn't taken my wallet, which held my Rocket ID. I wondered why, but then realized that since Astra knew my Rocket identity anyway, there was no point.

With a glance at my watch, I saw that it was ten, meaning that I had been out for around five hours. I suspected that the Rockets had me sedated, and when I looked at my left arm, I could see blood caked onto a very crude bandage that had probably only been applied to keep their trucks and detention cell clean. It didn't really do much, and while my arm didn't hurt much anymore, my back still ached from falling off Aros.

I could hear several Rockets talking outside the door, and the last thing I caught was, "Just let me talk to her," before Astra opened the door to the cell.

"So…you're awake," she said, walking toward me. "Normally I don't like working this late, but I figured it best if I deal with you."

I glared coldly at her, but after glancing once more around the area, I asked, "What am I here for?"

"Interrogation," she stated simply with a snide grin.

I narrowed my eyes. "And if I don't answer your questions…?"

"Use your imagination," she said, jerking a thumb at the large, orange-furred mouse that had walked in behind her. The Raichu twitched his long, inky-black tail with anxiety, sparks leaping out of his fur.

I struggled to keep a straight face, but in reality, I was in total dread. I knew she would ask things I couldn't possibly answer, and then… I shook my head to get that image out of my mind—the past few times I had encountered her Raichu…

"First things first…where's the rebel base?" she asked.

I groaned mentally—of all the questions. There was no way I could give that away; I needed to think of some way around it. But what, and would she know if I was lying? Maybe I could say it was in some city, no, or maybe a—

"Time's up."

She snapped her fingers, and Raichu instantly let a string of neon electricity fly from his yellow energy sacs. I clenched my teeth hard and twitched wildly from the burst of gut-wrenching pain. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it seemed like forever, and when it finally ended, I gasped for breath and coughed hard, my arms and legs shaking uncontrollably. I looked up to see that the smirk had vanished slightly from her face, but with a vague look of pity, she said matter-of-factly, "Told you so. Ready to try again?"

"Well…" I swallowed hard, thinking fast. "The base, it's…well, it's in Kanto."

"Don't get smart with me," she threatened.

I scowled and spat, "Look. We both know I can't answer it, so can we just move on and get this over with?"

I wasn't sure who was surprised more by the rashness of that comment. Astra raised an eyebrow, but said, "Alright then. Who's your leader?"

Saying the first thing that came to mind, I answered, "Dunno. He never told anyone his name for security reasons. Heck, he stays in his office most of the time and usually gives orders over the intercom. Um, he's pretty tall, but that's about all I know." I smiled in my mind. It seemed like a pretty good lie.

She gave me an odd look like she was trying to figure something out. At first, I thought that my ridiculous story had somehow led her to some conclusion, but then she said, "Is he, or was he ever on Team Rocket?"

"No," I said in a casual tone of voice, but then added, "but he knows people on Team Rocket, and that's how he gets all his inside info."

"Which people on Team Rocket?"

"How should I know?" I replied with a confused shrug. "He didn't just go right out and tell us."

"Well…he obviously teaches his members how to train Pokémon," she said thoughtfully.

Truly curious, I asked, "Yeah, but why is it obvious?"

She laughed. "There's no way your little team could be as formidable as it is now if he hadn't, not to mention the fact that our first battle was a joke with the experiment doing its moves all by itself. So what Pokémon does he use?"

Saying the first random ones that came to mind, I responded, "Um, Blastoise, Ninetales, Muk, Jolteon, and well, those are the only ones I've ever seen him leave with us to battle with."

"Wrong," she said icily, and an even worse flood of electricity followed. I screamed as the unbelievable pain filled every inch of me, and then finally sunk to my knees in agony. Even when it subsided, I sat there stiffly, panting hard.

"You expect me to believe that the Charizard who killed our members wasn't your leader's? Everyone on your team is too young and inexperienced to have one that strong."

"Yeah, well what about Spencer?" I countered. "He's a strong trainer, how do you know it wasn't his?"

"You mean the rebel with the Typhlosion and Pidgeot?" she asked. "If it was his, he would have used it that day when you guys crashed our plane. Although I admit a lot of people think he's really the rebel leader."

"Spencer?" I said incredulously. "He isn't even technically an official member."

"So you're admitting the Charizard really is your leader's?"

Faking a look of defeat, I mumbled, "Alright, so he doesn't have a Blastoise, but all the others are true, I swear." Fortunately, the fact that Stalker had a Charizard really wasn't anything that would give him away. Half of all Kanto trainers chose to start with Charmander, which meant that an eighth of all trainers had one.

She closed her eyes in frustration and then said, "A Muk and a Jolteon. We've never been attacked by those Pokémon."

I held my breath and kept glancing nervously at her Raichu. "He doesn't get real involved in the missions and stuff," I said quickly, despite the fact that it didn't really make much sense that he wouldn't.

Astra sighed, but then, in a quiet and dangerous tone of voice, said, "Look. I don't really like torturing people."

"Well you've sure showed it," I muttered sarcastically.

Ignoring my comment, she continued, "If you just tell me where the base is, then your team will be finished, but we'll let you go."

"And…and if I don't?" I asked.

She gave me a meaningful look and didn't respond.

I glared angrily, but then sighed and looked away. I was trapped, and she knew it. "Okay, but…but what'll happen to anyone who's at the base when…" I trailed off, dreading the answer.

Heavily considering her words, she replied, "The same fate that awaits any enemy of Team Rocket."

I stared blankly at the floor, completely at a loss for words. So it had come to this… I would either be killed, or cause my friends to be killed… But then…even if Team Rocket knew where the base was, Stalker could protect everyone, right? Training-wise, he ranked second in the world aside from the League, but I doubted he really would risk capture for the kids he worked with.

I narrowed my eyes and clenched my teeth, feeling more rage toward Astra than I ever had for any other Rocket. She folded her arms and said, "We'll leave it at that for now." She then turned and strode out of the detention cell.

Two Rockets met her outside the second she opened the door.

"What have you found out?" one asked.

"The rebel leader supposedly doesn't show his face much, but he does own the Charizard, and he's not Spencer," Astra replied.

The Rocket lowered his voice to such a whisper that I couldn't possibly hear what he was saying, but then Astra said, "You're right, I probably should have asked if it was him. Then again, she said the leader wasn't ever on Team Rocket, but that easily could have been a lie."

"And the base?" the second asked.

"It'll take more time," she answered, annoyed. "I gave her the options, she seemed to have trouble deciding."

The first Rocket snorted and said, "You sure ya shocked her hard enough? That usually gets 'em."

She shot a nasty glare at him. "What, and death threats won't?" she asked dangerously. "I don't think you're in any position to tell me how to run things. _I'm_ the head Executive here, and I'm doing this _my_ way."

"I know, I know," he replied in defense. "I'm just saying that the boss is getting impatient. He wants those rebels dead _now_, and he isn't exactly thrilled with the whole prisoner-taking deal. The way he sees it, such a wanted enemy of Team Rocket should just be killed outright."

"I think I'd know better than anyone what Giovanni wants," Astra said coolly, walking off. The first Rocket soon left as well, followed by the second, who stopped to close and lock the cell door.

I soon discovered that the discrete door to the right of the entrance was a bathroom, but other than that, there was absolutely nothing in the detention cell—unlike my last capture by Team Rocket, this time I had no means of escape. Seeing as I had been unconscious for five hours, I couldn't exactly fall asleep, especially with how much was on my mind, so I just sat cross-legged in the middle of the room, mulling over my interrogation and the conversation that Astra had with the Rockets afterward. No matter how hard I tried to ignore it, it really seemed like my life was hanging by a thread. And what would happen if Astra decided that there was nothing left to keep me alive for?

Thoughts like that filled my head all night, and I found myself checking my watch every five minutes. It was past midnight when I finally heard some noise shattering the maddening silence that enveloped the detention cell. Footsteps—coming toward me. I looked up at the main door and the shadow of a Rocket approaching. My first thought was that it was Astra, but she had even said that she didn't like working late, so it probably was some other random Rocket, which wasn't a good sign.

I stood to my feet and watched as the coded door was unlocked, and the Rocket stepped in.

But it wasn't Astra…or a random Rocket that I didn't know.

It was Stracion.


	15. Ambush at Midnight

**Chapter 14: Ambush at Midnight**

"Stracion, what—what are you doing here?" I asked in surprise.

"Oh gee, I wonder," she said, rolling her eyes and motioning to the door. "Come on, let's go. We gotta hurry 'cause there are cameras up there and it won't be long till they notice you're gone."

With a glance up at the ceiling, I saw that she was right. At the roof of the cell was a mounted camera I had never noticed before, but from the angle it was at, it couldn't see Stracion. I stood quickly to my feet and followed her out into the darkened hallway.

"Almost everyone made it back to the base safely, and when the Flygon experiment was done transporting the rebels, he told Stalker what had happened, and then he told me," Stracion explained.

"Did you know anything about the Legendary mission before it was carried out?" I asked.

"Nope," she replied. "I heard the higher-ups talking about Operation: L005, but only the Combat Unit knew what it—"

Blaring sirens filled the air suddenly as lights on the ceiling began to flash red furiously. Stracion looked up anxiously and said, "Crap, they've noticed—I gotta go, they can't know that I'm helping you."

"Wait, you can't—!" I was about to protest.

"Don't worry," she said with a slight laugh, "sheesh, it's already been all planned out—here." Stracion handed me two Poké Balls and an Experiment Ball.

"Firestorm, Swift, and Chibi?" I asked, as though expecting more. "Maybe Chibi can help but the other two aren't trained enough."

"Your other two Pokémon are back at Midnight along with the rebels. Just trust me, Stalker didn't want to lose any more rebels, so he got it all worked out."

"Any…_more_? Wait, what hap—?"

Stracion grabbed her Communicator from her pocket, took one look at who was calling, and swore. "I really gotta go, I'll lead all the others away from here, and keep in mind that even though the base is on high alert again, this is different—this time you need to force your way out, trying to hide and sneak around won't work." And with that, she ran off down the corridor.

I stared blankly in confusion, but then quickly regained myself and opened the three Poké Balls in a hurry. Three flashes of light—one black, two white—followed, and three Pokémon appeared. Predictably, one was Chibi, but the other two were—

"Aros? Stygian?" I said, surprised.

With a slight grin, Aros said, "You freed us from the containment cells, just think of this as us returning the favor."

"Come on, let's go, we were told that, chances were, you'd be discovered by the time we were released," Stygian said. "It'll be faster if you get on my back."

Chibi jumped up onto my shoulder as the Absol leaned forward. I swung a leg over her shoulders and mounted the catlike creature. Gripping the long white fur on her neck, I said, "Alright, we don't have much time, now let's go."

We set off down the deserted hallway, Aros flying behind us and the shrill cry of the alarm sounding constantly. I knew that simply getting out of that subdivision would be only half the battle—the real challenge would be the commons.

"Chibi, we're gonna need to attack and defend at the same time," I announced, my voice bumpy from Stygian's footfalls. "Your force fields are gonna need to block bullets, but still let our own energy attacks get through—that's called Reflect isn't it?"

"Finally learning to get control of the situation, are we?" Chibi said, grinning and then nodding in response to my question.

"I'll try to clear a path—no doubt they'll have other Pokémon out to block us," Aros said.

We emerged suddenly into the commons, we were almost completely empty save for Rockets guarding the exit and a few scattered around the hallway openings. It only then occurred to me that I should have been choosing the middle of the night to enter the Team Rocket base for missions—very few Rockets were still on duty.

"There she is!" a Rocket shouted, and then yelled into a Communicator, "All units to the commons, _now_!"

"Crap, okay Chibi, Reflect now, and Aros, fly higher and stay out of the line of fire!" I yelled.

The reaction was immediate—beams from stun rays flew through the air, and it was obvious the Rockets were ready for my entry into the main area. Agents from the other wings rushed in, releasing a variety of Pokémon as they ran. Stygian darted forward into the now rapidly growing commotion, surrounded by a shimmering electric bubble. Swinging her head to the side, the Absol released a glowing disk of energy from the blade on the side of her face—it didn't do any major damage, but it at least managed to knock back several of the Rockets' Pokémon.

"Aros, how's it going!" I yelled up to him. With a quick look upward, I glimpsed him dodging darts and blows from Flying Pokémon by rapidly disappearing and reappearing with the black aura of Faint Attack.

"Faint Attack, that's it!" I exclaimed. We needed to get out of there fast, because the Rockets _really_ didn't want to lose three experiments and their only captured rebel ever. If we waited around too long, their Pokémon could easily overwhelm and trap us, unless…

"Stygian, do you know Faint Attack?" I asked frantically.

"Yeah," she said, leaping up into the air before surrounding us with an ebony fog. In less than a second, we suddenly emerged on the other side of the circle of opposition, along with Aros, whom she had managed to teleport as well.

I let out a low whistle, impressed. Aros snorted and said, "Well sure…figures an actual Dark type would be able to do the move better…" before the white cat took off running up the stairs.

We raced up the long staircase and soon reached the storage room and exit door. I hurriedly jumped off of the Absol's back, snatched my Rocket ID from my wallet and scanned it, opening the door. With one last nervous glance at the Rockets charging up the stairs, we ran out into the inconspicuous alley alongside the Viridian Gym and into the night's darkness.

"Alright, we're out, okay let's go _now_!" I yelled, recalling Stygian and jumping onto Aros's back while he hovered alongside us. Chibi leaped onto my shoulder in a single bound as the emerald green dragon struggled to gain altitude. Putting up yet another shimmering lightning force field, Chibi managed to shield us from the last few stun rays from the Rockets' desperate attempts to keep us from escaping.

"Woo, yeah!" I yelled as we soared high in the air away from Viridian City. "Take that, Rockets!"

"I hate to spoil the celebration, but they're following us," Chibi pointed out. My face fell, and I glanced back to see that he was right—several Rockets had released and mounted Flying Pokémon and were now pursuing us.

"D'you think they're going to try to recapture us, or follow us to the base?" I wondered aloud.

"Doesn't matter, we gotta shake 'em," Chibi said, and at that, Aros angled his wings back and shot forward like a bullet, streaking through the air at blinding speed. Leaning forward to keep from getting hit by the rush of wind, I shot a look back to see that the Rockets' Pokémon were easily fast enough to keep up. There wasn't any way we could lose them when we were out in the open…

"Head for the nearest city and fly low," I instructed.

"What?" Aros asked skeptically.

"Just do it," I said, not wanting to explain why.

Nodding, but still confused, Aros swooped down and aimed more to the northeast. Soon enough, the peaks of skyscrapers, and the glow of city lights greeted us in the distance. Flaring his wings outward, the verdant dragon slowed down drastically, but gained better control over his flight path. Just seconds later, the Rockets overshot past us, and Aros swerved to the left and into the maze of side streets.

"Alright, now just stay away from main roads, make as many turns as possible, and er, stay away from any police. Technically this is illegal," I said sheepishly.

Following my directions, Aros carefully maneuvered between towering buildings, the Rockets only barely managing to tail us. We veered in every which direction—ducking through alleys, soaring low over empty streets, trying everything we could think of, and yet our pursuers still followed.

"This'll never work," I said, "we can't out-fly them…land in the next alley you see."

Realizing my intention, Aros plunged toward the ground, swerved right suddenly, and touched down behind a pile of old cardboard boxes. He leaned forward so we would be out of sight.

None of us dared to make a sound as we waited. With each passing second, I expected them to come flying into the alleyway, but they never did. It seemed to work, because after ten minutes in that position, we hadn't been found. By now the Rockets had to have realized that they'd need to search the entire city to find us and had probably left.

"Alright, we lost 'em!" I said brightly. "C'mon, let's get out of here."

Quickly zooming over the rest of Kanto, it wasn't long until we could see the ocean in the distance and, beyond that, Midnight Island. Circling once over the stadium, Aros descended and quickly alighted upon the concrete. I dismounted, and then turned to face him. "Hey, um…thanks."

"No problem…hey, you know, you're not so bad…for a human," Aros replied with a smirk. I laughed slightly and then pulled out a Poké Ball from my pocket, releasing the white-furred form of Stygian.

"Won't be needing this anymore," I said, shrugging and placing the ball back in my pocket. The two experiments glanced at each other as though they knew something that I didn't.

"Jade! Holy friggin' crap, you're back!" Rudy yelled.

I turned in surprise to see him and Darren running out through the main door of the stadium lobby. Both of them looked rather tired

"Yeah, Stalker said we should wait in the main area since we're in your mission group and all…" Darren explained.

"Were you guys there…at the mission, I mean?" I asked.

"I was, but Darren was further back in the line of trainers, so he didn't make it there in time," Rudy stated. "Now enough of this, it's the middle of the night."

"But wait, what happened, how come you got captured?" Darren asked.

"We split up in the beginning, but then—" I started.

"Come _on_, you guys…it's friggin' one in the morning, she can tell us tomorrow," Rudy said irritably.

"Wait, first you guys need to tell me something…I was told that Stalker, er, 'didn't want to lose any more rebels'…does that mean that…" I trailed off and left the sentence unfinished.

Rudy and Darren glanced at each other with mixed expressions. "Well…" Rudy started slowly, "yeah…I didn't actually see it happen, but a few kids, well, died…"

"Who?" I demanded.

"Not anyone we know," he said quickly. "Stalker's Dragonite brought 'em back from the mission. Stalker went with it and explained what happened at the Pokémon Center, 'cause there were a couple more kids that got injured when—"

"_Explained_? What, you mean he actually told the people working there that—?" I cut in abruptly.

"Er, that is—I don't know, okay? He must've told them a cover-up story or somethin'," Rudy said, shrugging.

It was then that Chibi finally said, "Yeah, I was there when it happened, and if it weren't for the various barriers and such, a lot more would've died."

I wasn't too fond of the topic we were on right now. Hoping to change the subject, I glanced around, my eyes falling on Aros and Stygian as something occurred to me.

"So, erm, you guys are on the island now," I pointed out stupidly. "Aros can just fly, but how's Stygian gonna leave?"

The two experiments again shot a look at each other, like there was something significant that I didn't know.

"What?" I asked awkwardly.

"Let's just say the life of a wild Pokémon didn't really suit either of us. Besides, by existing, we're involved in the fight against Team Rocket whether we like it or not, so there's no point in not staying connected to The Rebellion," Aros explained.

I stared disbelievingly at him. "Do you mean that…?"

"_So_, we decided having a real trainer for once wouldn't be so bad," Aros concluded.

"Even if it's one with no common sense and a lack of battling talent," Stygian added with a slight smirk.

It took several second for that to sink in…I now had two new Pokémon…two new, _previously trained_ Pokémon. Mixed emotions filled my head—I had no idea what to say, so I finally just blurted, "What about Razors?"

"When we decided to go with you, Razors said he would let Spencer train him…he didn't say why he chose him," he explained. "As for Spencer, he was pretty thrilled with the idea."

"I know, and that is so unfair," Rudy spoke up suddenly. "How come you guys got the cool experiment Pokémon?"

Darren laughed and said, "Maybe you should have gone on experiment missions then."

"Yeah, but…how was I supposed to know that—?" Rudy said, before giving up his case and laughing slightly.

I couldn't help but let a broad grin cross my face as we all walked through the entrance into Midnight Stadium.

---

Days passed by in a blur. The exciting events of the legendary bird mission gave way to a virtual lack of big-scale Team Rocket activity. Stalker said that they were focusing on trying to figure out the location of The Rebellion's headquarters, but unless they found any major clues, there was no way they were going to find out anything. I did visit the base a couple times though—mainly just small side missions for information like the rest of the infiltration force.

As for the rest of the time, Rudy, Darren, and I spent most of the days either training in everyone-for-themselves battles or going outside and playing odd games centering on us being super-powerful made-up Pokémon. Firestorm liked to laugh at that, but Chibi thought it was just plain dumb. More often than not, however, Rudy and Darren had to do a trainers' form of homework via their licenses. With the boredom I was succumbing to, I almost felt as though school would be welcome.

At the same time, I couldn't help but admit that I longed for something to break the routine. Deadly as it may have been, the last big mission had been incredible and exhilarating. Aros and Firestorm preferred not having to do anything. Chibi didn't really like or dislike anything. Stygian wasn't very open with her opinions. And, of course, Swift rarely talked at all.

----------

The battlefield was deserted and the corridors were empty that night at the stadium, as they normally were. Only a few trainers remained awake in their rooms. As usual, however, Stalker remained downstairs in his office.

Even he had to admit that the inactivity within Team Rocket was unnerving, despite the fact that he and a friend inside the Johto Force had managed to find a way to keep much better track of what was going on within Team Rocket.

He stared at his laptop's screen, reading the details of Team Rocket's next mission for what must have been the hundredth time. He had known for quite a while that it was to take place, and yet he still found it hard to believe. Still, he hadn't told anyone on The Rebellion about it because he didn't want them to panic. Rather, he had settled on telling them the morning of the day the mission would go through…yes, that would give them time to be ready for the Rockets…

A small beeping sounded suddenly from within his pocket. Retrieving his Communicator, he glanced at who was calling, pushed a button, and said, "Hey."

The face of his friend on the Johto Force appeared, a young, teenaged guy around the age of sixteen. His hair was dirty blonde and his eyes blue—not much more of him could be seen from his picture on the small blue communication device.

"Hey Stalker, er, we've got a problem…concerning Team Rocket of course…" he said, looking slightly concerned.

Stalker groaned. "What is it this time? I would have thought now that we can keep track of the Kanto force's plans, that there wouldn't be any more trouble."

"Well…that's just it. The ambush…it's tonight."

"What?!" Stalker exclaimed, jumping to his feet and staring disbelievingly at the Communicator. "Are you serious? It wasn't supposed to be for two more days—no one's ready, I haven't even _warned_ them yet!"

"There's no hope in fighting, they've got all their best Executives already sent. Your best bet is just getting out of there, _now_ or else you'll be found out."

Clenching his teeth, Stalker replied resolutely, "We've got a lot of potential allies here, I can't just let them all…" He sighed and trailed off. "No point in fighting, huh? We'll see about that."

"You can't be serious, Stalker…this is practically the entire Combat Unit, remember?"

Throwing various books, pictures, and other artifacts into a backpack, Stalker answered, "What about them? You and I both know I'm better than any…than any current Kanto Rocket. Maybe if it was a load of Johto Executives…but it's not—I can handle 'em."

He switched off the Communicator, stuck it into his pocket, and began hastily unplugging all of the computerized devices he had set up at his desk. Quickly shoving his laptop into the backpack, he zipped it up and threw it over his shoulder. Taking one last look around the room, he then opened the door and raced out, already taking out a Poké Ball and opening it.

----------

I sat up abruptly in bed, awakened instantly by a sudden, earsplitting siren blaring from all around. I clapped my hands to my ears, threw off the covers, and jumped out of bed, glancing around quickly and apprehensively.

"Augh, what the crap is going on?!" Firestorm yelled irritably, holding his tail flame up to see in the darkness.

"I don't know!" I exclaimed over the shrill cry of the alarm. By now, all five of my Pokémon had woken up, and all of them except Swift were now shouting incoherently in confusion.

"Enough!" I snapped crossly, stumbling toward the dresser and grabbing their Poké Balls. I recalled all of them, wanting to figure what was happening on my own. I then flipped on the light, ran to the door, and flung it open.

Outside my room, other trainers were already running down the hallway in panic and alarm. Figuring that it would be best to go along and ask questions later, I dashed back, grabbed my backpack, and randomly shoved my possessions into it. I had fallen asleep in the clothes I had worn the previous day, so all I needed was to throw on my shoes and…almost as a bit of an afterthought, I opened the dresser drawer, retrieved the jet black Dark Crystal within, and shoved it into my jeans pocket before hurrying out the door.

I sprinted down the stairway as I had so many times, this time surrounded by the panicked rebels attempting to figure out what was going on. I made my way through the crowd, searching for either Rudy or Darren, but to no avail in all the chaos.

What on earth was going on? The alarms alone shouldn't have caused so much panic.

"Rudy, Darren!" I shouted, but I could hardly hear myself yell. I stood on my toes, which actually helped considering that I was taller than most of the twelve-year olds, but I still couldn't find anyone I knew. Shoving through the mass of trainers, I made my way into the main lobby, hoping to get outside and find some clue as to what was happening, but before I could, I saw something that made my jaw drop.

I stood there gaping at an immense hole blasted through the wall where the doors had once been. Chunks of plaster littered the once spotless tile floor, and when I looked across the room, I could see a similar gap in the far wall. The registration counter had been hopelessly destroyed, and the computer panels were thrown askew, their screens cracked with twisted masses of wires ripped out.

Even though most of the rebels were either heading for the exit hole or the one leading into the battlefield, I had other ideas in mind. Taking off down the left hallway, I sprinted toward Stalker's office, threw open the door, and immediately saw that he wasn't there. I swore under my breath and then ran back into to lobby and into the battlefield after seeing that most of the more experienced trainers were going that way.

I wished I hadn't the second I did.

Team Rocket was there, yes, but the first thing I noticed was the death…all around…everywhere. The Rockets were playing for keeps now, and taking prisoners obviously wasn't on the agenda.

Each and every single Rocket had their Pokémon out to take on the pitiful last line of defense while they fired mercilessly at the opposition. The battlefield was filled with the sound of gunfire, and trainers and Pokémon alike dropped to the ground. Most of the rebels who had entered the onslaught regretted it within seconds and scrambled for the exit, but were unable to make it in time. Even though a few trainers had barrier-producing Pokémon out for both protection and attack, bodies lay motionless everywhere, killed instantly from shots to the head and chest, whilst others lay dying in a sea of scarlet, crying out in anguish in the midst of chaos while flows of glistening blood streamed from what were likely fatal wounds.

And yet I was unable to do anything but stand rigid as though glued to the spot, gaping in utter horror and complete disbelief. It couldn't be happening, it couldn't possibly be happening. It was like a bucket of ice had been dumped on my head, but even that could not ever begin to describe it. And then, with a sickening realization, I remembered—Rudy, Darren—where were they—they couldn't be _here_, they just _couldn't_ be.

I had to find them; I had to have Chibi protect the survivors; I had to do _something_, but every inch of me was screaming to run away, to leave, to desperately hope that my friends were alive.

Almost as if it were the only motion I was currently capable of, I pulled out Chibi's Poké Ball and released him in a flash of light. His form appeared next to me instantaneously, and he immediately his eyes widened in complete shock.

"Holy shit…" he muttered, staring blankly at the scene of vivid death that lay in front of us. "Jade…what—?"

"Cover me, I'm going in," I said, cutting him off. "I have to find Rudy and Darren, and if we can save anyone, we have to."

He nodded and promptly produced a shimmering barrier of electrical energy, but his urge to know what was happening still showed. He jumped onto my shoulder and said, "Jade, what happened…?"

I didn't answer him; I couldn't answer him—not just because I couldn't bring myself to, but also that I knew nothing more than the obvious. I stepped forward into the midst of the battlefield, and though we were completely impervious to the pandemonium all around, not even the barrier could block out the smell of blood that drenched the air, or the pitiful cries of the injured.

It was then that I truly realized why I was against Team Rocket.

"Jade! What the fuck is going on here?!!!" Chibi shouted.

"I don't know!!!" I yelled back. "We're under attack, end of story! Widen the barrier around the line of Rebellion members and their Pokémon!"

By now, all of the remaining rebels had recalled their Pokémon and run for the exit, and Chibi took this opportunity to create a new barrier, this time encircling all of us. Most of the trainers knew what was going on because Chibi had done the same thing to protect them at the Legendary Bird mission, while others looked around in awe and amazement.

"Come on, we have to get out of the stadium at all costs!" I yelled, and no one needed telling twice. Oblivious to the Rockets' attacks, we ran through the gaps in the walls and emerged outside at last to find even more Rockets. This group, however, had their Pokémon out and were doing damage directly to the left side of the building itself. High above us, several members of The Rebellion were engaged in aerial combat with the Rockets' Pokémon.

The first crowd of Rockets we had met inside suddenly charged through the hole after us, but then a voice yelled, "Go back inside and check the right wing for any stragglers, and Group B continue destroying the left wing—leave the rebels to me."

As if I could possibly _not_ recognize that voice.

Astra walked forward, separating herself from the crowd and leaving her Fire Pokémon free to continue spewing white-hot flame upon the building. She pulled out her last Poké Ball and unsurprisingly released her large, orange electric rodent, Raichu. I glared apprehensively.

"All these rebels here and you immediately confront me?" I spat. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you've got something against me."

Smirking, she replied, "I've got something against all enemies of Team Rocket."

I clenched my fists. "Oh yeah? Yeah, well how come you're the only one not using _that_," I said, pointing at the gun holster hanging from her Poké Ball belt.

"That's not really my thing, but _this_ is." With the flick of a finger, she motioned to her Raichu to attack, but I whipped out a Poké Ball and released Aros in a flash. Raichu's attack collided with the barrier, and when he paused to charge again, Chibi opened the force field, allowing both Aros and all of the Rebellion members to get through. While the latter took off running immediately for Midnight City, the former glanced around at the scene, knowing that this was no time to ask questions and rather focusing on the battle at hand.

"It's _over_. We've got the best members of the Combat Unit here, your base is gone, half your team's dead, your leader's not even here—there's nothing more any of you can do against us," Astra said, her voice cold and emotionless.

"You know there are more people against you from the inside than us, don't you?" I said brashly. "And there always will be. Not only that, but the Legendaries won't help your side, 'cause one of these days, they'll unite, and then you Rockets'll be in serious trouble."

I was making up things at random, trying to scare her. I really could hardly remember anything from the Midnight shrine legend, but what I had said sounded somewhat right at least.

For a while, she said nothing, and the only sound was the roar of the fire in the background, but then, suddenly and unexpectedly, she pointed at Aros and yelled, "Raichu, Thunderbolt!"

Upon hearing this, Aros darted to the side, attempting to evade a powerful blast of lightning that flew toward him. Realizing that I needed to command an attack, I exclaimed, "Use Faint Attack!"

The verdant dragon streaked forward, glowing with an ebony aura before disappearing completely from view. Not expecting that, the Raichu glanced around nervously, unsure of where his opponent was. Astra gritted her teeth and muttered, "Just wait for it, Raichu." The auburn mouse nodded and stood his ground.

Suddenly, Aros appeared out of nowhere surrounded by black fog and zoomed forward, but Raichu was too quick for him. He jumped to the side, powered up another Thunderbolt, and sent it flying at the Flygon. Aros's flight faltered slightly upon being stuck by the attack, but being a Ground type, he was mostly unfazed, if slightly stunned.

Astra had to realize that the approach wouldn't work, because her hand hovered toward another Poké ball, but then she decided against it, recalled her Raichu, and called forward her Arcanine. The immense orange and black-striped firedog ceased its assault on Midnight Stadium and trotted to Astra's side, growling at Aros.

Before either combatant could make a move, however, a deep, thunderous roar sounded across the island. A burst of flames seemingly came from nowhere, striking the Group B Rockets' Pokémon right in the heart of their lineup. Finally, from over the trees, a Charizard soared, powerful, majestic, and radiating with a fiery glow I had never seen before. Sure enough, Stalker was mounted upon it, only he was wearing a black ski mask and a long overcoat to hide himself from the Rockets.

"Hm, about time your leader showed up. Care to tell me who he is? The Charizard has never been much of a clue," Astra commented.

I said nothing and was determined to make sure Stalker's identity remained a secret. I turned back toward the flaming orange colored dragon and watched as several of the Rockets' flying Pokémon soared over to fight him. All of the Rockets on this mission were highly experienced—there was no way Stalker could win against all of them…and yet even as I watched, he _was_ winning. I knew Charizard were fast, but they weren't _that_ fast. The fiery reptile was almost a blur as he flew rings around the other Pokémon, throwing blindingly fast flaming punches, knocking the winged opponents into each other, and performing loads of other combo moves. Turning back to Astra, I saw that her smirk had diminished slightly.

"So…better than our top Executives combined, hm? If it weren't for the Charizard I'd think he was…"—she left the sentence unfinished, pulled out her Communicator, and whispered something into it.

"Bringing reinforcements?" I asked with a surprising air of taunting in my voice.

"You might say that," she replied, grinning as though she knew something I didn't. I raised an eyebrow, nonplussed, but said nothing. Even our Pokémon didn't make a move.

But then, the rushing of wind could be heard overhead, and I glanced upward to find the source. The distant sound of heavy wing beats reached my ears, and it wasn't until I caught the glow out of the corner of my eye when I saw it…or rather, _them_.

Two immense birds soared over the ocean toward the island along with a white, humanoid creature. Unsurprisingly, the first two were Articuno and Moltres, the former glittering with an icy sheen, and the latter giving off blazing embers with each flap. And the third, of course, was Mewtwo, his cat-like body glowing as he flew psychically beside them.

"Wha—where'd they come from?!" I yelled.

"It doesn't matter where they came from—what matters is that they're here, and they're under our control."

Several of the Rockets mounted their Flying Pokémon and flew up to join those who had been fighting Stalker, but rather than battle, they surrounded the three Legendaries, as though giving instructions… The reaction was instantaneous—the experiment and the ice bird flew off after the trainers who had fled, but Moltres remained.

Stalker's Charizard threw out his wings and retreated slightly only to hover defensively several yards back. I kept wondering why he didn't put more distance between himself and Moltres until it occurred to me—Stalker was actually going to _challenge_ her…the Legendary Bird of Fire was here and he planned on fighting.

Charizard streaked forward in a blazing flash to meet the phoenix before she could respond. He lashed out with his tail, but the bird was too quick and lunged out of the way, striking back with a vicious Flamethrower attack. Stalker directed his Pokémon in evading the scorching blast and swerving back while brandishing wickedly sharp claws. The dragon swerved in close before darting back again, dodging another spurt of flaring embers. Soaring around like a vulture, he then swooped down and flipped under the phoenix, but before he could slash, Moltres veered off and avoided his claws.

Right then I realized Stalker's advantage, however small it may have been: because Moltres was being controlled by Team Rocket, she couldn't strategize on her own, and because the Rockets didn't have the equipment needed to direct the bird's every move, all they could do was tell her to attack. Moltres inhaled deeply and blasted out another Flamethrower, but this time Charizard was caught slightly along the end of his left wing. The fire dragon's flight faltered for a second before he regained himself and attempted to smack the firebird with his tail, but missed. Still trying to land a blow, Charizard feinted a Wing Attack before darting forward and slashing wildly. Although he missed hitting Moltres directly, his claws went through the blazing feathers and tore through the flesh on the bird's wing. Crying out, the phoenix recoiled back, but then lunged forward unexpectedly, covered in flares. Not expecting that, Charizard was unable to dodge the Sky Attack and his entire right wing was caught in the blaze.

Unable to maneuver well, the flame reptile drifted back and held his wings out in a calm soar, now very vulnerable. The blazing phoenix breathed out the fiery blast of a star shaped inferno and Charizard countered with his own Fire Blast, but when the two attacks hit, the huge gap between the two combatant's powers showed through. Moltres's assault burst through Charizard's, and the dragon only narrowly avoided the oncoming blaze. Finally determining that there was nothing to be gained by continuing the battle, Stalker instructed his Pokémon to retreat.

"Too much for even your leader to handle…figures. Well, now that the show's over, back to business—Arcanine, Flamethrower!"

Neither Aros nor I was ready for that. The Flygon instinctively lunged to the side, but was scorched along the side by the blast. He threw out his wings and streaked back, claws flaring for a Dragon Claw, but couldn't seem to get an opening. Astra's firedog kept jumping away from his reach, occasionally breathing out scattered embers to prevent him from attacking.

"Aros, try another Faint Attack," I said, turning away from the battle to watch Articuno and Mewtwo fly back. Moltres and Articuno paused in midair, but then soared off to the west, leaving a lone Mewtwo hovering over the smoldering Midnight Stadium.

"Wait, Aros, get back here," I said warily, oblivious to whether he had been in the middle of attacking when I said that. Glancing up and the humanoid cat experiment, Astra said, "Time to leave already? Guess we'll have to finish this some other day—this isn't over."

She recalled her other Pokémon and then mounted her Arcanine. "Come on!" she called out to the other Rockets. "That's the signal, let's go!" At once, the remainder of Group B released a myriad of Flying Pokémon and mounted them, soaring into the air. Several of them hung back to give one last instruction to Mewtwo before taking off.

"We better get out of here, come on," I told Aros, swinging a leg over his back and taking care not to touch the areas where he had been burned. We spiraled upward, still keeping our eyes on Mewtwo as we ascended over the island. Suddenly, the clone spread his arms to the side, his entire body glowing a bright eerie blue—a stark contrast to the jet-black sky. Waves of energy grew from his body, shimmering and wavering as his power grew until finally, with one sweep of his hand, Mewtwo fired the energy downward, and then soared off.

The blast collided with the remains of Midnight Stadium and erupted into a ball of blue flame on contact, obliterating everything that was left of The Rebellion's headquarters. There was nothing more to it—one moment it was there, the next it was gone…consumed by the raging azure flare.

Turning away, I laid eyes on Midnight City, to the south. I nudged Aros in that direction, and we flew swiftly and silently across the island. When I squinted, I could see the crowd of trainers gathered around the Pokémon Center, some of them no doubt helping friends who had been injured. For about the millionth time that day, I prayed that Rudy and Darren weren't among the dead.

And then, for whatever reason, I finally noticed Stalker hovering over the Pokémon Center. His Charizard lay suspended in midair, hardly needing to flap his wings to stay aloft.

"Hey!" I said, getting his attention. He turned and nodded, apparently in deep thought.

"Hey…" he said distantly. "I saw the explosion. What happened?" he asked.

"Mewtwo," I answered simply, as though the name itself was an explanation.

He looked out at the clouds of billowing smoke that filled the air. "Figures…simply burning it down wasn't enough for them. They had to kill half the team _and_ destroy the base… Still, if they weren't taking prisoners, then they might not figure out any more than they know now."

Much more than they knew now… I remembered something I was been wondering for a long time, and finally asked, "Why do you not want the Rockets to know you're a traitor?"

Stalker pondered the question for a few seconds before answering, "Well…I have future plans. I need to keep my position on Team Rocket for them to work. In the past I've already caused a lot of problems involving its top leadership, and if I keep at it, I think I can even get Giovanni out of the way—Team Rocket would fall apart without him."

"You really think you can take down all of Team Rocket?" I asked, surprised at the immensity of his goal.

"Not exactly. I really think that's impossible, but…" he trailed off, unsure of how to finish his sentence.

"Do you think you'll ever get a chance to restart The Rebellion?" I asked curiously.

He shrugged and said, "Maybe, maybe not. I think I'm already under suspicion, and I really think that even if Team Rocket didn't find out now, Giovanni would have found me out eventually, and then not just The Rebellion, but the whole inside resistance against him would have failed."

"The inside resistance?" I repeated. I had known that Stalker had other allies within Team Rocket but had never paid it much mind. But now that The Rebellion was done…

Almost as if he knew what I was thinking, Stalker said, "I already told most of the higher ranking members of both the active and infiltration force how to find me in Johto. Mahogany Town, by the way—ask a few of the Executives in the main Kanto base and they'll tell you how to get into the secondary Johto base."

At that, his Charizard slowly drifted away from Aros and me, but almost as an afterthought, Stalker added, "You know, you really don't have to keep training illegally. Maybe where you were from they had that rule that you need parents with you to get a license, but it's not like that everywhere." And with that, the flaming orange dragon threw back his massive blue wings and streaked off, quickly fading into the lightening sky.

I hovered there motionlessly for quite some time, watching the smoke from the wreckage billow upward and distort the red streaks that now crept forward across the sky on the eastern horizon. I still just couldn't believe it…in one night, everything had changed. And yet, in the back of my mind, I admitted that I had to have seen it coming—there was no way The Rebellion could have been kept a secret forever.

Still, our little team had made a difference, and maybe that was all that mattered.

"So, where to now, Jade?" Aros asked finally, breaking the silence and jarring me from my thoughts.

"Oh…right. I guess the Pokémon Center first, and then after that, the Viridian base," I answered distantly. "I don't wanna get my license just yet, I need to get the instructions on entering the main Johto base, and there's one more thing I need to do there…"

He didn't ask what it was, but rather turned wordlessly and swooped downward. I honestly didn't know what I planned to do myself, but I wanted to know how they had known where our base was, and at the same time, I wanted to do one last thing before going to Johto. And I knew that the only way to strike one final blow would be from within their main headquarters.


	16. Betrayal

I'm an idiot. I wrote this chapter a million years ago, but I sort of tend to ignore this place. That said, the past few months have been nothing but revision, and yet I never drop any hints about what parts of old chapters have been changed. (I'm a message board kinda person. The lack of free communication between author/reader in this place is just...meh) Soo...yeah—old chapters revised, they're better now and some plot stuffs are different. Like some of you long-time readers may not know that Rayquaza no longer died in the war (see the end of chapter 11, Shrine of Midnight Island) or that the wordings of both legends have changed a lot. Oh yeah, and I haven't written 16 yet, so it's not like you guys are that far behind.

**Chapter 15: Betrayal**

**Attack on Midnight Stadium Kills Many**

Midnight Stadium, home to specialty Pokémon League sanctioned tournaments was recently the site of a major incident resulting in the deaths of numerous young trainers residing there. Although officials are baffled as to the cause of the attack, eyewitness accounts of the strike include everything from Legendary Pokémon to the reappearance of Team Rocket, supposedly disbanded years ago. "The entire site was burned, so it will be hard to tell anything other than the obvious, and what we have

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from witnesses," says reporter Craig Simmons. Most of the trainers were around twelve years of age and those that survived the incident either fled the island, or remained, but were too shaken to report exactly what happened. Parents of those killed were contacted, but no explanations were given. According to Simmons, there's no way to tell for sure it the actions were really those of Team Rocket.

Because no account of activity within Team Rocket has been reported within the past ten years, it has been believed the team disappeared for good. Most say that it is very unlikely that such a large organization could function underground without anyone knowing, but reports of witnessed poaching of Legendary Pokémon are rising.

Although their whereabouts are normally unknown, locals reported seeing a total of three Legendary Pokémon at the time of the attack. Although there is no proof of the supposed appearances, because the destruction of the stadium was mostly arson-based, it's likely that more than one powerful fire Pokémon was present, but to assume that mythical creatures were nearby is extremely far-fetched.

As for the cause behind it all, League officials have no idea why the children would have been targeted. The stadium was rented out for instructing beginning trainers on how to battle skillfully, but the actual motives behind this are unknown. "We have no evidence to suggest that this was anything other than a random act of violence."

I threw the newspaper onto the table with distaste. It had never occurred to me that stories on our Team Rocket-related incidents could actually be published. Not only that, but the amount of mistakes the story had contained was laughable to anyone who knew what _really_ happened at Midnight Stadium.

"Retarded, isn't it?" Stracion commented. "But I guess it's good that they didn't figure out anything about either Team Rocket or The Rebellion."

"Yeah, I guess so," I mumbled, not wanting to talk about it. I actually would have preferred it if it all had been random acts of violence rather than what it really was. What everything was…

We were in the main commons section of the Viridian hideout, seated at one of the many tables along the food court-type section. A few scattered Rockets went about their business—it was a slow day for Team Rocket.

Something suddenly occurred to me and I continued, "But wait, wouldn't it be good if the League got involved with all this? Not even all the Executives combined could take on the Elite Fours of all four regions."

"I dunno, I guess it's not that simple," Stracion answered. "If the League joined the fight, we'd probably end up starting a war."

"True," I said, shrugging.

"Anyways," she said, "Stalker finally sent me the access codes. I forwarded them to your new Communicator."

"Really? Cool," I said, quickly pulling the device from my pocket. Because she was an Executive, Stracion was able to set up a completely fake Rocket account in order to get me a new Communicator, seeing as Spencer still had my old one from the Legendary Bird mission. It was the same trick Stalker had used so that he wouldn't be discovered even if Team Rocket had gotten a hold of a Rebellion member's Communicator and traced the calls.

"I'm assuming the gym battle is still on, then?" I asked her.

"Yeah, Giovanni's scheduled in a badge battle in half an hour so be ready. No one's allowed to watch his battles with challengers, so I won't be able to call to warn you when he's done."

"No problem," I replied. "From what you've told me, they can last anywhere from a half an hour to an hour—that's plenty of time.

I had taken advantage of the fact that Giovanni was a Gym Leader in order to do one last thing for The Rebellion and sneak onto the ultimate Team Rocket database—the one in his office. All challenges had to be scheduled in advance, so I had known this day would come and had been preparing to enter his office all week. Now that I had the codes to get in, nothing could stop me from grabbing all the best information I could and getting out quick. I even planned to eventually find some way to free Mewtwo, although that would take some figuring out.

According to Stracion, it would be impossible to delete information from the database due to all the precautions they took. I was unsure of whether she said that because it was true, or because she was holding to her supposed goal of "hurting Team Rocket's ultimate conquest, but not completely destroying the team."

"You sure you have a way to get past the cameras? I am _not_ bending any more rules for you and I can't sort through another high alert situation," she said, doubtful that I could really pull it off.

"Relax," I answered. "I've got it all planned out. Just tell me when Giovanni goes up to the gym."

"Alright then, I hope it works," she said, getting up from the table and walking off.

I proceeded to mess with my Communicator, flipping through the many features that I never knew it had. I had re-entered Rudy and Darren's numbers into it and had been using the Communicator to talk with them ever since The Rebellion ended. We had met up at the Midnight Pokémon Center on the night of the attack, and I had been extremely relieved to see them both alive. We had gone our separate ways the following morning, them having gone off to finish training at the various Kanto Gyms. I hoped to meet up with them someday and do the same…after I got my license and met up with Stalker in Johto.

Lost in my thoughts, I selected the message I had just received from Stracion and scrolled through the access codes, noting which areas I could get into and data archives I could view.

"Well, well what do you know…we've still got rebels in the base," a voice said.

I glanced upward immediately and nearly fell out of my chair in surprise. "Wha—what are you doing here?!" I asked, my eyes widened upon seeing who it was.

"I could ask you the same question," Astra said coolly, sitting down across from me. "You have a lot of guts showing up here after all that your damn team's done against us."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, quit playing games…why don't you just turn me already while you're at it. You know, you've never exactly explained why you haven't."

She scowled. "What's it to you? So I'm sick of everyone dying, enemy of Team Rocket or not…and I'm sick of being the cause of it."

I raised an eyebrow. "So you're saying that the mission the other day was your idea?"

"No," she snapped.

"Alright, then whose was it?" I asked, amused.

"None of your business!" she retorted. "Like I'm going to discuss Team Rocket's inner workings with _you_. And I'll have you know that if you don't leave this base soon and not come back, I'll make you wish you'd never joined that rebellion."

"Whee. Threats," I muttered dully. "If it's any consolation, I'll have you know that I'm going to Johto tomorrow."

"No doubt to mess with the Johto Force."

"Bingo, right in one," I answered, mimicking the motion of waving a small flag. "Ever heard of the resistance? You Rockets are doomed."

Astra narrowed her eyes, but at the same time looked surprised. "How'd you know about it?"

"I know a lot more about Team Rocket than you think I do," I replied simply.

She rolled her eyes at first, but then realized something. "Wait…your team leader…he leads the Resistance doesn't he? Who is he?" she demanded.

I actually had no idea whether Stalker led the inside resistance, but I answered, in a mocking sort of voice, "Like I'm going to discuss The Rebellion's inner workings with _you_."

"You better tell me or else!" she threatened.

I gave her an annoyed expression and answered, "If I didn't tell you back in the detention cell, what makes you think I'll tell you now?"

She scowled and said, "Fine, but you had better leave tomorrow…and never interfere with Team Rocket's plans again or else you are so dead."

Standing to her feet, she glared at me one last time before storming off.

I mentally noted that at least one good thing would come out of me running away to Johto: I wouldn't have to deal with Astra anymore. With a glance at my watch, I was just wondering when it would be time when I felt my Communicator vibrate in my pocket. I retrieved it and read the simple text message: "Alright, he's gone." I set my watch for half an hour, left the table, and strode toward the seventh hallway.

Although I had already been there before during the fiasco Chibi had created to get me into the Legendary Bird mission, I had never seen the boss's office. It was the furthest in the back, past the Main Operation section and around a corner. There were Rockets in the offices, but not in the hallways, although that wasn't really what I was worried about.

I had spent the last week memorizing where all the security cameras were. Although the hallways were nearly free of them, high security areas like Legendary containment rooms, some of the more important test facilities, detention cells, the battlefield, and of course, the area right outside Giovanni's office, were all under watch.

Glancing around one last time, I pulled out a black Poké Ball from my pocket and opened it, releasing a flash of black light that took the form of a white furred creature with ebony claws, a stiff curved tail, and a large blade along the side of her face. The Absol observed the scene quickly, turned to me, and asked, "Are we in the base?"

I nodded. I had already previously explained to her what the plan was. "Giovanni's office is right beyond this wall."

The only way to get in was the door, which of course was crawling with cameras, so I had decided to take advantage of a certain attack to teleport in—Faint Attack. Stygian had told me that the ability had a range of about thirty feet, and all we needed to do was to reappear on the other side of the wall.

"You sure you can do this?" I asked as I climbed onto her back.

"I told you—I usually need to see where I'm appearing to, but since it's just on the other side of the wall, it shouldn't be a problem," she explained. And with that, the glowing black aura encircled us. Surrounded by the mist, we immediately vanished and reappeared in a completely different setting. With a gaze around the room, I concluded that we had reached our destination.

"Alright, that's good—I'll let you out again when it's time for us to leave," I said, recalling the catlike creature into her ball.

Giovanni's office was notably larger than any of the others, and just as technology based. A large screen panel lined the main wall by his desk, and when I looked closer I could see that the main computer was built into the wall. Tiny glowing lights shone from every corner of the room and, with a laugh, I noted that alongside the filing cabinets, there was a mini fridge and a screen that seriously suspected to be a TV. Figures that Giovanni would have more conveniences in his office.

I walked across the room toward his desk, and when I sat down, the screen instantly illuminated and showed the main desktop. With a slight hum, the lower part of the frame shone light out onto the desk that resembled the normal keyboard and sensor pad. When I touched my finger to the light pad and moved it, the arrow on the screen moved as well.

"Cool," I commented to myself before tapping on the database icon. From my pocket, I pulled out a mass storage disk that I planned to save everything useful on. After inserting it into the computer, I set to work.

Starting at the main page, and scrolling through the index, I glanced over the titles of the various archives that were stored. Occasionally I found some notable information like a detailed analysis of all of the captured Legendaries' power, and immediately saved it. Eventually I came to the mission archive, which was one of the main things I had come for. I clicked it and my eyes widened involuntarily as the page loaded—an extremely long list appeared immediately that held links to the records of every Team Rocket mission ever. At the top was the recent Midnight Island operation, and I counted off each of the missions I knew of: the three birds, Raikou, Entei…further down it even had the Mewtwo file I had skimmed on the online database nearly two months earlier. What particularly peaked my interest was Operation L:001—a mission to capture Zapdos. I had obviously figured they had to have gotten the Zapdos DNA for Chibi somewhere, but it had never occurred to me that they had tried to capture the lightning bird once before.

I didn't have time to read everything, so I quickly saved the entire page and all of the individual records to the disk before clicking back to the main page and browsing once more.

I then saw something that most definitely peaked my interest: a message box. I skimmed through it and found a letter along with its reply that was from Giovanni to a "Commander Ralsaren." Overwhelmed with curiosity, I saved it and then read.

Original Message: Head of Team Rocket to Johto Commander

Despite your claims at working on Legendary missions similar to the Kanto Force, other than your Force's capturing of Entei, Raikou, and Latios, on closer inspection of your mission log, it has come to my attention that the Johto Force has been under a virtual lack of big-scale activity. Although I am grateful for your information concerning the rebel team we have been dealing with, I must wonder whether you are truly fulfilling your duties as Commander of the Johto Force.

Re: Johto Commander to Head of Team Rocket

You know as well as I that I've been working with the Hoenn Force. How do you think I created that report on the Hoenn Legendaries and the operations of the alleged "Team Aqua" and "Team Magma"? Their growing power and dominion over Hoenn could be a problem for the Legendary Project, particularly if they succeed in their goal of gaining control over Groudon and Kyogre. And I myself question your ability to lead Team Rocket when you've got traitors everywhere and are having such problems with a bunch of kids.

I let out a low whistle—that conversation was literally a goldmine of useful information for the inside resistance. I had already saved it, so I pushed the matter from my mind and returned to my search.

My next find made me laugh out loud—a most wanted list. After clicking it, a long list of the fifty most wanted criminals against Team Rocket came up. Curious as to whether I was on it or not, I clicked to sort them by alphabetical order and then found, sure enough, I was on it. With another click, I saw my bio as the thirty-sixth most wanted person, with the list of my crimes as destruction of aircraft, theft of several experimental Pokémon, being a known member of a rebellion, breaking into numerous databases, sabotaging of missions, causing havoc in the main base, and suspicions of conspiring and treason.

I snickered quietly. If my list of crimes was that long, then I wondered what on earth everyone ahead of me had done. I searched for Spencer's name and found he was fifteenth. Ajia turned out to be fourth for destruction of major Johto bases, sabotaging of missions, fraternizing with prisoners and aiding in their escape, direct opposition of Johto Forces, and suspicions of leading loyal members to treason.

Now curious as to what the heck the top person had done, I put the list back in numerical order and clicked on the top. The most wanted enemy of Team Rocket was some guy by the name of Spike, whose crimes were destruction of major bases, fraternizing with the enemy, conspiring and ultimate treason, deserting post when high in rank, direct opposition of all forces, and large knowledge of all inner workings when in a position to use such information against Team Rocket.

So treason was a big thing. I guess if anyone could use anything against them, it was a real danger, and it was only then that it occurred to me that, if I wanted to, I could tip off the police about base locations and such.

I also noticed that Ajia was wanted for a lot of things in Johto. I wondered if she knew about Stalker and how a lot of Johto members were working against Team Rocket from the inside.

Other than Ryan ranking at twenty-eighth, no one else I knew of was on the list, so I went back to the main page and glanced at my watch again—only eight minutes left and though I'd found a lot, I wanted to stay longer.

Since I already had the mission log on the disk, I pretty much had the entire inner workings of the team at my fingertips for later reference. There wasn't much left that I thought I would need, so I decided to browse the member list and look up the bios of the Rockets that I knew. With a click, I brought up the records and set them according to first name. I scrolled down to "t" and selected Tyson's name when I found it.

I read through his bio, but I already know most of the information it had. He had been on Team Rocket for four years, so he hadn't been involved in most of the experiments' creation, but was rather the main handler and trainer. I returned to the main list and then looked up each of the profiles for Rudy, Darren, and me but there really wasn't anything on us other than that we had participated in the Raikou mission and that our overseer was the Executive, Karen. Scrolling back up to the top, I was curious as to what it said about Astra, since she was the head Executive.

Only her name wasn't there.

I raised an eyebrow, nonplussed, but even at a second look, I couldn't find her. Even the members of The Rebellion were listed as registered Rockets, so it really made no sense that someone like her wouldn't be mentioned, and I really wanted to see her file. Tyson's name had been there, so it wasn't like the Executives were mentioned somewhere else.

Frustrated and confused, I returned to the main page, but something kept nagging in the back of my mind: I was on the database, but not under my own name of course. What if Astra was listed under a fake name…? But why on earth would she do that? She was an Executive, she had no reason to, unless…

Unless Astra was the fake name…

I widened my eyes in realization and disbelief… She wouldn't have told me a fake name if she weren't trying to hide her real one…

It hit me like a ton of bricks to the face. I had no idea how I knew, yet at the same time, I felt like it was blatantly obvious. Astra was _not_ her name; no she was really someone else, and it seemed like it all was coming together at last…

She always did seem like she knew more about me than she was supposed to…and there always was a shadow of pain in her eyes when she had her Pokémon attack me…I hadn't realized what it meant before…

Not to mention the fact that she looked exactly like her…

It was all coming to me, everything, it all fit together perfectly… I clicked the member list again, scrolled down to the "s" names, and stared at the screen.

Starr.

I clicked the name in disbelief, yet knew I couldn't possibly deny it. The picture was easily the older version of the picture I had looked at so many times in my yearbook, the birthday was March sixth, the age read seventeen…

It was true.

My old best friend was one of my worst adversaries imaginable.

I gaped at the screen in silence for a long time, not entirely sure how to react. Mixed thoughts and emotions were clouding my head, but I knew that in the back of my mind, I had to have known that I knew Astra. Somehow, I wasn't surprised by what I had just learned.

It was then that the anger rose.

How could I possibly not have noticed; it was so obvious! I pounded my fist against the desk and then looked back suddenly, afraid someone had heard. Glancing at my watch, I realized that I had been in there for too long, so I turned off the computer, grabbed the disk, and pulled Stygian's Poké Ball from my pocket for the second time.

From the burst of light, the white cat experiment emerged and, knowing what I needed, wordlessly leaned forward for me to mount. I climbed up onto her back, and she immediately focused her energy into letting the black fog encircle us again. In a flash, we disappeared and instantaneously reappeared around the corner outside Giovanni's office and, most importantly, away from the cameras.

I recalled Stygian without saying anything and then proceeded to storm off, my thoughts straying back to what I had just learned.

Why hadn't she told me?! I'd seen Astra loads of times ever since The Rebellion started—why hadn't she ever said who she really was?! Maybe she wanted to keep me in the dark…maybe so that I would fear her Rocket self more? No, I didn't like that answer; maybe she was afraid of my reaction? That was likely, but there had to be more to it than that.

Either way, I had to find her. An unusual rage was building inside of me…my thoughts kept drifting back to that night in the detention cell, and her Raichu. How could she do that?!

I knew I wouldn't have to wait long for answers; it wouldn't be hard finding her, and, sure enough, I soon spotted Astra walking toward one end of the commons.

I stormed forward, oblivious to any of the Rockets I was running into, and gradually made my way through the crowd to her. Without saying anything, I grabbed her roughly by the wrist and began dragging her off somewhere we could talk without being overheard.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she hissed.

"We need to talk," I muttered, hints of rage surfacing in my voice.

She raised an eyebrow and pulled my arm off hers. "You know, I don't think you're in any position to be telling me what to do," she threatened.

"Oh, oh yeah, well I think I do," I retorted. "In fact, I don't think you can do anything to me."

"Is that so?" she replied, a smug grin on her face.

"Yeah, that's so," I shot back immediately. "You act all tough, but you'd never back your words up with actions."

Fuming, her fists clenched, she dangerously said, "How about I prove it now?"

I played my trump card. "Go ahead, attack me with your Pokémon, turn me in to the boss, do whatever, get your old best friend killed."

She stopped suddenly, as if the words were a smack to the face. Her eyes widened, and she swore under her breath before regaining herself quickly and narrowing her eyes. Starr grabbed my wrist as I had done before and continued to drag me to the same secluded hallway I had been leading her to. Finally, she spoke. "So…now you know…you figuring it out wasn't exactly part of my plans, but…Jade, that was a long time ago. Things are different now."

"Different, oh yeah, I'm down with that, different as in you've been a total asshole!!!" I glared at her and didn't have to wait long for her response.

"Damn it, Jade, don't you see why I didn't want you to figure it out?!" Starr shouted. "I _knew_ you'd react like this, but why does it matter?! For crying out loud, we were only friends for about a year, and that was _five years ago_!!!"

"Is that supposed to matter to me?!" I yelled, the rage turning to desperation. "You were one of my _best friends_!!! And now what? You're practically at the head of a criminal organization that wants me dead, and gee, let's not forget the recurring torture incidents," I added in a mocking sort of tone. "Mind telling me why the heck you did that—or better yet—why the heck you joined Team Rocket?"

Starr honestly looked like she wanted to punch me in the face. She contained her frustration, however, and said plainly, "It's not like I had a choice in the matter," but then looked like she'd rather not have said that. "Well what about you? Last time I checked, you were on your own team, and whether you'll admit it or not, I'm not the only one who's changed because of a team."

I didn't bother mentioning that The Rebellion no longer existed, as she knew that, and it was beside the point. I examined her expression, wondering what she had meant by saying we both had changed.

Still, I couldn't help but let my glance slide toward the holster hanging from the right side of her Poké Ball belt.

She wouldn't…would she?

"Noticed this, eh?" she said, grasping the jet-black handgun and fingering it delicately.

"You wouldn't," I muttered, more to myself than to her.

She laughed. "Jeez, I haven't changed _that_ much. I've never killed anyone, to be honest, and it doesn't exactly make me look good with the other Executives. No, if I _really_ needed to, I could always just aim for your leg or something."

She was bluffing; I could see it in her eyes, yet I didn't dare test my theory.

"Yeah, well just…put it away," I mumbled.

"What, afraid of guns?" she asked tauntingly.

I clenched my teeth. "Yes, I am afraid of guns, now put. It. Away."

She shrugged slightly and replaced the weapon in its holster. She remained silent until I finally brought up what I had been wondering most of all. "Why? It makes no sense, why on earth did you join Team Rocket? And maybe not just why are you on it, because I know a lot of people who are _on_ it, but why are you actually faithful to it?"

She paused, glaring angrily for several seconds before finally, with a sigh, she said, "Look. I think we both should just forget any of this happened. You go back to working undercover for your team, I go back to my missions and keeping suspicion off myself while trying not to get you killed in the process."

"Well you're quite the loyal Rocket," I muttered sarcastically as she was about to walk off.

Starr spun around immediately in fury. "Yes. I _am_ a loyal Rocket, and if you knew the real reason behind that, you might lose it, so I suggest you not try to test whether my loyalty to my friends is greater than my loyalty to my team."

She stormed off, and though I wanted to follow her, I felt as though I had been glued to the spot. It wasn't until several minutes later that I found I was able to leave the hallway, and when I did, I immediately returned to my room at the closest Viridian Pokémon Center. Even then, as I sat on the edge of my bed staring blankly at the wall, I found that every aspect of the past hour defied comprehension.

It was insane, mainly because I never, in my wildest dreams would have expected any of it, but also that I had no idea what to do about the situation. How on earth would I be able to do anything against Team Rocket with Starr practically being head of the Kanto Force? The thought often recurred that it wasn't really my problem if I simply decided not to get any more involved in the fight against Team Rocket than I already was…and I still had yet to become a legal trainer…

The fact of it was that I couldn't trust Starr, but if I continued to work inside Team Rocket, my life was practically in her hands—not a very reassuring thought considering our last encounter. My best bet was finding out how to free Mewtwo as quickly as possible and then running away to Johto and siding with Stalker, his allies, and some of The Rebellion's members there. I had enough money to get where I needed, and my Pokémon were at least skilled enough to get the Kanto Rockets off my tail while we escaped.

And yet…

Maybe I was just being stupid, but I kept feeling overwhelming curiosities as to why Starr joined Team Rocket. It really made no sense whatsoever, and try as I had to make up theories, I still had nothing.

I tried to tell myself that I didn't give a crap about any of it. I was going to go to Johto in a few days, and an old friend whom I'd lost contact with years ago showing up on Team Rocket really was not my problem

It wasn't my problem. I didn't care.

…Yeah, right…

I really felt like an idiot for how attached I could get to my friends sometimes. I hardly even remembered any of the times we had. There were a few shadowed memories…us in certain electives at school, with Ajia too… I had only been nine then, and we both had changed immensely to the point that the person we had found friendship with in each other was long gone.

Still…

She was siding with the enemy…I still wasn't quite sure what the true intentions of Team Rocket were, but the facts were that I'd been shot at a lot by them and they were taking over the minds of the Legendaries. And while I didn't have the full picture and was rather prejudiced against them from my Rebellion pride, the overall lot of them was ruthless, murderous at times, and wanted a lot of my friends and me dead.

Sure, there were a lot of them that actually thought for themselves and had their own plans in mind, but Starr obviously wasn't one of them. I doubted she was like the majority of the Rockets, but…

I shook my head to clear all thoughts. I was over-thinking it _way_ too much. The point of the matter was that I needed to get Starr off Team Rocket, for both security and personal reasons. The biggest roadblock was that I had no way of doing so. I really didn't want to just attempt to persuade her—it not only wouldn't do anything, but I still didn't trust her. What if matters came down to a battle, or she had Rocket Grunts hiding while we talked? No, I would need help—that was it.

But from whom? I didn't see the point of asking Rudy or Darren; they didn't even know her, and it wasn't their problem. The same went for Stalker, even though he was on Team Rocket and was an immensely strong trainer. No, someone it actually affected…

And then it hit me. It was so obvious, I felt like kicking myself. I needed someone who knew Starr, would be able to talk with her, but was more logical than me and wouldn't end up shouting incoherently. On top of that, I needed someone who was a strong trainer, would be able to beat her if it came to a battle, and could even defeat many skilled Rockets combined.

And all of those were traits of one really good friend of mine.

* * *

Claimer: Giovanni's badge battle setup and office layout are mine. 


	17. Old Friends and New Enemies

**Chapter 16: Old Friends and New Enemies**

Flipping through my wallet for about the millionth time since I had come to my decision, I pulled out the small, wrinkled, water-stained piece of paper that Ajia had written down her PokéGear number on long ago. I glanced around the Pokémon Center lobby from the glass entrance doors to the marble counter, but there was no one within earshot. I sighed as I placed a few coins into the videophone, which was normally free for trainers. I selected PokéGear call and then proceeded to enter in Ajia's number.

There was a pause as the screen glowed blue and dialed the number. I didn't have to wait long. Soon Ajia face appeared on the screen, and she smiled in surprise.

"Hey Jade, it's been a while," she said. "How's it going?"

I forced a smile and replied, "Okay I guess…that team I joined way back when after you flew me to Vermilion…it broke apart, so I'm gonna go train in Johto soon. But anyways, there's…a problem… Remember Starr from way back when?"

"Of course," she replied. "Why?"

I looked around once more, but the only people were across the room, and they were talking anyway, so I wouldn't be overheard. With a sigh, I said, "Turns out, she's on Team Rocket, and not just _on_ it, but she's loyal to it and has definitely been a part of it for a long time."

She raised her eyebrows and stared at me surprised for several seconds. "Starr. On Team Rocket, are you serious?"

"It gets worse, she's the head Executive," I added.

"She is? Jeez, what was she think—" Ajia started to say, but then stopped. Her eyes widened as she said, "Holy fruit…I think I've fought her before."

Now it was my turn for the stunned silence. "What?" I asked after several seconds.

"I've fought Team Rocket a lot, and I've run into Executives. I met one in Johto who I heard later became the head of the Kanto Force, so it must have been her… And now that I think about it, she even looked like her, holy crap, how come I've never noticed before…?"

"It's been five years," I said. "I never would have figured it out if I hadn't snuck into the database. But never mind that, I need your help, because, well…"

"Don't worry, I understand. Er, I'm assuming this is at the main Team Rocket base," she said.

"Yeah," I confirmed. "In Viridian, it's at the—"

"I know, I've been there before. I'll meet you at the entrance, Jade."

"Okay, see ya," I said, pushing a button to end the call.

I breathed a sigh of relief, glad that there was someone else who understood the situation and was willing to help, especially since I had been driving myself nuts with it. I quickly left the lobby and returned to my room to grab my Poké Balls, my Team Rocket uniform, and my backpack, leaving the rest of my stuff in the room. There was no sense in waiting so I immediately left the Center and made my way to the Viridian Gym.

I hung back about a block away from the gym so that I wouldn't run the risk of encountering a member as they entered the base. Leaning back against the rough brick wall of a nearby building, I scanned the darkening, cloud-streaked skies for any sign of a flying Pokémon. Finally I caught a glimpse of a distant figure speeding towards us from the west. Sure enough, as I neared I could see that it was Ajia's gray-scaled, pterodactyl-like Pokémon. The Aerodactyl slowed down considerably as it soared over Viridian, flaring its wings outward and spiraling downward. It touched down with its clawed hind feet onto the pavement, and Ajia dismounted it.

"Hey, thanks for coming," I said as she recalled the ancient reptile into its Poké ball.

"Seems like we've only been meeting up when there's something going on with Team Rocket," Ajia commented, laughing slightly.

"Yeah…y'know, it's too bad that we haven't gotten to meet up just for fun ever since you started training," I said.

And with that, we headed over to the gym.

Ajia had to hang back while I stood in front of the camera and scanned my card. After that, we faced an odd problem in that I had a Team Rocket uniform, but she didn't. Ajia had the idea for us to search around the storage closet, though, and sure enough, we managed to find a box stuffed full of black clothing. Even once we were in, we faced a number of minor difficulties, from being unable to find Starr in the commons to having no idea where else she would be. Ajia suggested that we check the sixth hallway, which was actually comprised of private quarters for Executives or high-ranking members constantly stationed at the base. And even then, we had no idea which one was Starr's.

I would have laughed at how pathetic it all was if it wasn't happening to me. We had to wander around the commons, asking random Rockets if they knew where we could find the head Executive until finally one of them told us her room number.

The ridiculously long task of finding Starr didn't do anything to ease the tension. Ajia knocked on the door once we found the right room, and we waited in silence until the door opened.

Starr took one look at us, swore under her breath, and tried to close the door, but I saw that coming and threw my weight against it. Ajia joined in, and with both of us pushing, we managed to open it enough to get through, despite Starr's resistance. Starr slammed the door shut behind us, locked it, and rounded on me.

"What are you _doing_ here?! And what'd you bring _her_ for?!" she yelled pointing at Ajia.

"Gee, thanks," Ajia said, rolling her eyes.

Starr stopped and looked at her again before saying, "Wait a minute, don't tell me _you're_ on that rebel team too."

"No," Ajia said simply, "but Jade told me about it, and I might as well be with all I've done against Team Rocket. But that's not the point."

She raised an eyebrow. "Then what is?"

"As if you don't know. I mean, look at you, you're head Kanto Executive for crying out loud and practically the Commander, even though there isn't one now."

"Yeah, no thanks to you," Starr retorted.

Ajia clapped a hand to her forehead and said, "That's not the point either. We've been going against Team Rocket separately all this time and now it turns out you're practically leading it?"

Starr laughed and said, "Puh-lease, the only reason Jade's against Team Rocket is because she got hired randomly to fight it, and with you it's all just because of—"

"Oh come on—will you quit changing the subject?"

Starr glared at her silently for several seconds, but then gave Ajia an odd look like she was trying to figure something out. Finally, a slow satisfied grin made its way across her face, and she quietly started to say, "You mean she doesn't—?" Starr decided against finishing the sentence however, and occasionally gave me very unnerving glances as though she knew something I didn't.

"What? I don't what?" I asked, growing annoyed.

Ajia, on the other hand, seemed to understand completely what Starr was insinuating at, even though I had no idea whatsoever. She gave her a sort of annoyed stare for a few seconds, but then casually said, "So…you mind telling us why you're so loyal to Team Rocket, or do we have to be here all day?"

Rather than answer, however, Starr picked up her Rocket Communicator off of a nearby table. "Look. I have my reasons, and you two would do well to stay out of it. I'm a Rocket, and you both should just keep out of my business. Now if you don't leave, I'll call security on you."

I gave Ajia a nervous glance, but saw that she had a rather amused expression. "Going to turn us in? I'm surprised at you, Starr; I'd think a high-ranking Rocket like you would know what would happen if two wanted enemies of Team Rocket were captured. Or maybe you just don't care if they kill us."

Starr continued to scowl at her, but I, on the other hand, was in awe. In less than two minutes, Ajia had Starr trapped, in her own threat, no less. I almost laughed when I compared it to my own attempt to argue with her.

Starr sighed and muttered, "Unfortunately for me, I _do_ care, and that's my biggest problem. It would be a lot easier if I could just pretend I _hadn't_ known you two before I joined Team Rocket."

"See? _That's_ your problem, Starr. The only reason you care whether the other higher-ups of Team Rocket kill us is because we used to be friends," Ajia said.

Starr gave her a confused look and replied, "Well why else would it matter to me?"

Ajia groaned exasperatedly and said, "I rest my case."

I understood the point she was trying to make. Starr had been changed so much by Team Rocket that Ajia and I were the only remaining ties between the way she was now, and the way she used to be. I widened my eyes suddenly upon realizing it. That was it—that was what Ajia was trying to take advantage of.

Starr seemed to have reached that same conclusion, because she then said, "I'm head Executive, what do you expect? An enemy of Team Rocket is a threat and I've gone through this debate enough times. The past few years I've learned to ignore any sympathy, although Jade pretty much owes her life to it."

Ajia gave me a sideways glance. I narrowed my eyes at Starr and asked, "What are you talking about?"

She laughed. "Like you don't know."

I shrugged and said, "The only thing I seem to remember you ever doing is tormenting me with that friggin' Raichu of yours…and the point still remains that you're head Executive, and people don't reach that rank without being seriously devoted to Team Rocket's cause."

She rolled her eyes and said, "You act like being an Executive is a crime. But in any case, Team Rocket's cause doesn't mean anything to me. I just organize the technical stuff for the missions and handle everything in the base. All the planning and such is the boss's job, and my loyalty is to him."

Ajia threw her hands in the air and said, "So now you're loyal for no reason? Why on earth did you join it then?"

"Wouldn't you like to know…" she muttered. "And there's a reason alright…"

"And do you plan on telling us some time before _next month_?" I asked sarcastically.

Predictably, her answer was no.

"Well that's great," Ajia said brightly, "we'll just come back in May."

"Ajia!" Starr yelled in total frustration. I snickered and had to put a hand to my mouth to stifle a laugh.

"Well this has sure been progress hasn't it?" Ajia continued, pretending she hadn't heard her. "Starr doesn't know _why_ she's siding with people who want to kill us, but she'll figure it out if we ask her in May—I wonder what's so special about May?"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, I had to struggle hard to control my snickering. Ajia looked proud that the randomness of her comment had left Starr hopelessly unable to think of anything to say, although she was scowling at the both of us.

With a slight laugh, I added, "No, see, she's probably just ticked right now because we've been too persuasive, and she's afraid to admit that we're really righ—"

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP!!!!!" Starr shouted. "I don't care how long you guys bug me, I'm _not_ going to tell you, alright?! What's it to you guys whether I'm on it or not? Most of the team wants you dead, yes…well I don't—duh. Why isn't that enough? Or are you guys just going with the, 'ooh, Team Rocket equals _bad_' approach? Can't you guys just lay off?!"

Her point had left me totally speechless, because really, I couldn't think of any way to respond. I felt as though I had no idea why I was against her being on Team Rocket.

"Because…" Ajia said slowly, choosing her words carefully, "you can't be loyal to Team Rocket and help its enemies at the same time. Trust me, it doesn't work. Sooner or later, you'll be found out, and you're gonna have to choose."

I gave Ajia a surprised glance and wanted to ask her how she knew this, but rather waited for Starr's response. She wouldn't look either of us in the eye, but I knew that she was heavily contemplating Ajia's words. Everything was silent until she finally said, "Can you guys just leave…now?"

I was about to say, "No way," but Ajia spoke first and said, "Fine." I raised an eyebrow and glanced at her questioningly, but she gave me a significant look and didn't respond. Starr also seemed surprised that Ajia would just agree to leave like that. I followed her as she opened the door and we exited into the hallway.

"Why are we just going like that?" I whispered to her.

"There's no way in the world we'll be able to just convince her to quit. I think I have an idea, though, but it'll take major planning, _and_ I'll need to get some inside Team Rocket info on the computer. But first of all…if it's okay with you, can I know everything that went on with Team Rocket these past few months?"

And with me feeling the most confused I had ever been in a long time, I proceeded to tell the story as we returned to the Pokémon Center. It was odd, because even though I had gone over the events numerous times in my mind, there were some things I had trouble putting into words, and others that I had forgotten the details of. I explained everything from the Raikou mission, to my misadventure with the experiments, to the Legendary bird mission. Pretty much the only thing I didn't get into was what went on between important events, like with The Rebellion on Midnight Island. Too much unneeded detail.

Ajia listened carefully the whole time, occasionally nodding or saying something like, "You were involved in sabotaging Operation L:005?"

I paused in my story upon our return to the Center, where Ajia and I rented a double-bunk room. After moving all of my belongings over from my old room, I proceeded to explain the last few events that had occurred, like my battles with Astra at the destruction of Midnight Stadium before finally concluding with my sneaking into Giovanni's office.

Ajia nodded to acknowledge that she had heard it, but she looked to be heavily concentrating on something.

"I still don't see how any of this is gonna help us get her off of Team Rocket, though," I admitted. "And for one thing…what was Starr talking about, y'know, back there? And how'd you know that her playing double agent like that won't work?"

Ajia sighed. "Let's just say that I've done this before. That's why we have to get her off _now_. And actually…" she said, pausing slightly, "from what you've told me about the Legendary Control, I think we might be able to do it and free Mewtwo at the same time."

"What?" I asked skeptically, surprised at how high her goals were. "How on earth are we supposed to do that?"

"It's gonna take some luck…_and_ we'll need to end up in a Pokémon battle with Giovanni himself. Worst case scenario, we can get her off Team Rocket but without freeing Mewtwo."

I stared. "Are you serious? I've gotten in over my head with Team Rocket as it is, but isn't that overboard? We'd be caught in two seconds."

"Not if we got Starr involved," Ajia said, grinning.

I failed to understand how that was going to help us. "You're betting your life on her reaction to us playing uber-rebel?"

"No," Ajia said, laughing slightly. "I've noticed one thing from all of our experiences with Team Rocket—if the Rockets have to focus their attention on more than one problem and if you keep moving and have a good Pokémon defense, they can't catch you. If you add in Starr's usual intervention, then we've got it made."

It made sense, but I still felt lost—like she had come up with this big master plan of which I knew nothing. "Could you explain…?"

"Of course, once I get everything figured out. I'm gonna contact a friend who has access to a bunch of inside Team Rocket info. We messed up this time by just charging in without any idea of what to do, but next time we need a clear plan," she said, turning around in the desk chair and starting the computer.

I shrugged and turned around on my chair, knowing by now that once Ajia got started on a strategy, she'd get every last detail worked out. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Pichu, who was watching me curiously. She didn't say anything, but that wasn't surprising, as Pokémon raised by a single trainer rarely conversed with anyone else. I smiled slightly and said, "Heck, I bet _you_ know more about Team Rocket than me," before turning on the second computer.

---

Ajia spent most of the night on the Internet, both looking at the online Team Rocket database and contacting a friend of hers. I passed the time by entertaining myself on the other computer—reading bios on some Pokémon species and going on battle strategy websites. The latter did nothing but endlessly confuse me. Finally, after several hours, Ajia turned to me and asked, "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," I said, still not convinced that we could pull something this big off.

"Alright. I've got a file here on the Legendary Control Technology, and I think the improvements that the Rockets have made are actually going to help us."

"_Their_ improvements will help _us_?" I asked skeptically.

"Yeah, they modified it," she replied. "Turns out, they don't use the direct control over the Legendaries anymore."

"They don't?" I asked, surprised.

"Nope…it was too impractical, and it would only work well if they had the actual machine near the Legendary. Now it's under two modes—normally, the Pokémon's energy is completely restricted and its thought isn't, but when a sort of 'battle mode' is initiated, the Pokémon is forced to obey regular spoken commands by top Team Rocket leaders, so it would respond just like an ordinary Pokémon."

I nodded understandingly, although I couldn't help but notice something. "Wait, if they don't use the machinery anymore, then what's controlling them? It couldn't possibly be like the experiments where they zap 'em once and that's it, could it?"

"No, otherwise they would've been able to control Legendaries a long time ago. Nope, now it's programmed into the Master Ball itself."

I gasped. "But…but that makes it impossible to free them. The only way to free a Pokémon from its control would be to break it or deprogram it or whatever. I really doubt there's any way we'd be able to get our hands on it."

"We wouldn't need to. You see, they keep the Legendaries in their Master Balls when they're not being used. That's why we'd need to end up in a Pokémon battle where _we_ had control of the situation, and all the other Rockets were out of the picture. And there's no way we could possibly persuade Starr to quit Team Rocket, but if we dragged Giovanni and Mewtwo into the picture, she'd be forced to. And I really think it could be done."

I listened carefully for the next few minutes, a feeling of awe slowly growing as she further elaborated upon her plan. I couldn't believe it…it would work, it would actually work, and by exploiting Team Rocket's strengths, no less. And the real gem of it was that it was incredibly simple—we'd just need a mega distraction, and who better to use than Chibi, Aros, and Stygian? And maybe also another renegade experiment and wanted enemy of Team Rocket…

---

Everything was deathly silent as we waited by the gym, our eyes endlessly scanning the skies for the tan and brown eagle that we knew would be approaching soon. I could feel my heart pounding in anxiousness of the mission we were about to undertake, even though I had already heard the details several times and knew that it was foolproof. Everything was ready; we already were dressed in Team Rocket uniforms and everything.

Far off in the distance, I caught a glimpse of a speck speeding toward us and knew that he was here.

I had contacted Spencer, knowing that he would be perfect for the distraction role, not just because he was a wanted enemy of the Rockets and owned an experiment, but because he seemed to be pretty good at it. His Pidgeot flared its wings outward before swooping down and landing in front of us.

"Nice to see ya, Spence'," I said, giving a slight wave.

He slid down off the tan eagle's back waved back to us. "You know, we really need to hang out more often," he said, grinning.

"If only that were a possibility," I said, laughing and pulling out three Poke balls to release all three of my Experimental Pokémon. Likewise, Spencer opened an Experiment Ball, allowing a burst of black light to take Razors's form.

All three of us had already explained the situation to all of our Pokémon, so we could use any one of them if we needed to without them being initially stunned by whatever was going on that the time. Razors raised a scythe slightly as a sort of greeting, although his facial expression was just as incomprehensible as ever.

"Alright, we ready to do this?" Spencer asked, glancing at the gym.

"Yeah, just give us a few minutes to get inside the base and then do pretty much anything that'll get them out of there," Ajia said.

"Don't worry, with Chibi's force fields for defense, I can pretty much guarantee you guys over twenty minutes, depending on what you do that could get their attention away from me," Spencer replied as Ajia and I started down the alley toward the entrance. I scanned my card and glanced over my shoulder one last time saying, "Just get outta there if they bring out any Legendaries. I doubt they would, but still…"

We strode through the storage room and down the stairs, and I could feel the anxiety building within me more than ever. We emerged into the commons to see the usual amount of Team Rocket activity. One thing that Ajia had told me was that the Combat Unit was only stationed at the base before and after big missions, which made sense from my past experiences.

"Alright…we'll hit the main base control first…be ready to run," Ajia advised, and with that, we waited. It was only a few minutes, but with the suspense hanging in the air, it dragged on forever. I was relieved when I finally heard a distant crash, but at the same time, I knew there was no turning back now.

Unlike the last time, in which Spencer had his Pidgeot completely Hyper Beam the entire entrance, this time he took a less conspicuous approach. The second computerized door was simply knocked off its hinges by Arcanine, who leaped forward with Spencer waving to the Rockets from its back while saying, "Hey! Didja miss me?! Break out the confetti, cuz' I'm back!!!"

It was so completely random that I had to stifle a laugh as the nearby Rockets gaped in surprise.

"Are you gonna just stand there or do I have to use the four Experimental Pokémon I have with me and just toast the base?" he asked rhetorically.

That jerked them out of their stupor. An Executive immediately yelled, "Idiots!!! Do something, anything!!!"

Instant chaos ensued. Chibi jumped out from behind Spencer and surrounded them with a protective lightning bubble as every Rocket in the area pulled out Poké Balls, guns, stun rays, or tranquilizers. Flashes of light materialized into Pokémon as strings of lightning leaped off of the force field, causing the nearest Rockets to jump back in surprise.

"Oh, come on, do we really have to settle this with guns and Pokémon all the time?" Spencer asked them, raising his arms defensively. "Can't we just talk it out over a latte?"

"Now," Ajia whispered to me, and I remembered what I was supposed to do. We raced toward the back of the commons where I stood on the first chair I could find and shouted, "Hey, we need the head Executive over here! Astra, or Starr, or whatever the heck she's calling herself now!!!"

The goal was for us to get Starr's attention and draw her away from the others. The Rockets were completely preoccupied with Spencer and didn't pay any mind to my shouting. At least, most of them didn't. It took a while, but finally I spotted Starr in the crowd, who turned towards me with a "you!" look on her face.

"Oh yeah, she's coming, let's get started," I said.

In the background, I could hear Spencer shouting, "All your base are belong to us!" as Arcanine dashed back up the stairs.

We sprinted through the deserted headquarters, Starr trailing behind us. Ajia had released her Pichu and now the pale yellow mouse was perched lightly upon her shoulder, ready at a second's notice to create a lightning shield if we needed one.

Our first destination was the fourth hallway—the Main Operations Division. Pretty much our only destination for that matter…it was all so simple. We raced past numerous open doorways until we reached the one on the end. I hurriedly entered in the access code that I had memorized from my Communicator before throwing open the door.

"What the—?!" a Rocket guard yelped in surprise upon seeing us.

"Pichu, Thundershock!" Ajia immediately yelled. Pichu sparked and let loose a blast of electricity that struck the two Rockets stationed inside the room. They slumped to the floor unconscious.

"Figures that not all the Rockets would get sent after Spencer," Ajia said as we stepped inside. "A high security area like this is probably under watch constantly."

I glanced around the area we had entered, in awe of how the entire room seemed to be computerized. So this was the control room…the center of all the security cameras and defense systems of the Viridian base. Ajia set to work turning off all the cameras except the ones in the Transportation Division while I whipped out my Communicator and dialed "1." The first member and the leader…I was text-messaging Giovanni. I quickly typed the message, "You're needed in the eighth hallway. Mewtwo could be a big help."

"Alright, we're set, now it's just a matter of everything falling into place. Only one last thing…" Ajia said, but at that moment, the door burst open.

"What on earth are you two doing here?! And I mean that literally—what are you trying to do?!" Starr demanded, charging into the control room with Raichu at her side.

"You'll have to catch us to figure it out!" Ajia said tauntingly, and with that, Pichu fired a string of lightning at a small section of the computerized wall, causing a small explosion. Immediately after that, we raced past Starr, ignoring her angry and confused shouting.

A thought suddenly occurred to me while we were running, and it really seemed like the most obvious way to hurt Team Rocket. Why couldn't we just destroy the entire control room, or better yet, the entire base? Obviously, if we tried to now, it would ruin everything, but it made no sense that the Inside Resistance couldn't do it.

"Well that went well," Ajia said with a laugh, interrupting my thoughts. "This is going even better than we thought, especially considering how predictable she is."

I was thoroughly out of breath, but for once I was running through a Team Rocket base without being totally panicked. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure that Starr was following us and then concentrated on heading toward the eighth hallway. We slowed down as we entered the immense transportation hangar.

"Right…now all we do is wait and—" I started, turning suddenly upon seeing the glimmer of something out of the corner of my eye. A sudden glint of neon…

"Oh, God, no…" I muttered.

I was about to take off running when it struck. Both Ajia and I were suddenly enveloped in a blast of lightning more intense than any I had ever felt before. I clenched my teeth and let myself fall to the ground, but absolutely nothing could block out the pain. And the worst part was that it just wouldn't stop. Indescribable gut-wrenching pain filled every inch of my body, and couldn't help but cry out in agony, almost wishing that I would lose consciousness so that I wouldn't have to endure it any longer. I had no idea how long it lasted, but even when it ended, I lay in a heap on the concrete floor, completely disoriented.

I moaned weakly, as none of the other attacks had been anywhere near that bad. And then the truth occurred to me—all of the other times…she had made her Raichu _hold back_.

"Starr, you fruit…was—was that necessary?" Ajia asked through gritted teeth, struggling to stand up. She had a lot more resolve than I did—at that point I almost didn't care what happened and was ready to just say "screw Team Rocket and Starr" and forget I had ever heard of the damn team.

"Jade, get up," Starr snapped, walking up with her Raichu.

"I hate to admit it, but she's right," Ajia said, still wincing in pain. "This isn't over yet."

As much as I didn't want to, I slowly struggled to my feet, wishing that I had something to throw at that Raichu—or better yet, something to throw at Starr. We really were going to a lot of trouble just to get her off Team Rocket.

"Starr…might I ask what is up with you and the concept of electrocuting people?!" I shouted.

She stared downward, her Rocket cap hiding her face. Finally, she looked up, her eyes cold, but her expression unrecognizable.

"You really don't get it, do you…?" she asked in a low tone of voice. There was pain there too, almost like she regretted every word. "Whether you like it or not, I'm a Rocket, and nothing's going to change that. Yeah, I may be different in that I value you guys' lives, but any enemy of Team Rocket is an enemy of mine."

My sudden burst of anger now starting to wear off, I stared unbelievingly at the Rocket I had once known so well. She glared back icily with an indifferent stare before saying, "Surprised? You shouldn't be, at least, Jade shouldn't. I would have thought I made it clear before: don't try to test whether my loyalty to my friends is greater than my loyalty to my team."

She then pointed at the vehicle exit ramp, which had been closed when we weren't looking. I scowled and clenched my teeth. Sure, we were supposed to end up in a confrontation with her, but it was just enraging that she would actually do that. Not to mention that the ramp was our last resort if things got too out of hand.

"They've closed off all escape routes, plus the rest of the team will be arriving soon," she continued, her voice emotionless.

"Wait, wait…what?" I asked in surprise. We'd been banking on the fact that Starr would do the same thing she'd done in every other encounter we'd had with her. She'd gotten to be pretty predictable, but _this_ was totally unexpected. "You called the Rockets back after us?!! Why the crap did you do that???!!!"

"I had to!" she yelled back. "I can't ignore what you two have done just because we used to be friends."

Ajia clenched her teeth and whispered to me, "This is bad. She wasn't supposed to do that. It isn't over yet, but now it looks like we _have_ to free Mewtwo or else we're not getting out. Before it was just an added bonus, but now it looks like all of our backup options just ran out."

* * *

Claimer: I own the Legendary Control/Master Ball technology. 


	18. Escape from the Hideout

...Maybe I would have more readers if I wasn't so lazy and actually updated every once in a while. This chapter was written last May. Anyone who wants to see semi-consistent updates can head on over to SPPf.

**Chapter 17: Escape from the Hideout**

I clenched my fists, still unable to get over the fact that the most predictable aspect of our plan had come crashing through. And the worse thing was that out plan to free Mewtwo would take a lot of luck and timing—one of the main reasons why we had left it as an extra to the main goal of getting Starr off Team Rocket.

"We couldn't just bail right now?" I asked Ajia.

"I don't see how we could. We'd have to either bust through the runway exit or force through a wall of Rockets. And even if we _did_ get away, we'd never get another chance to do this," she replied, glancing about apprehensively.

"What are you two whispering about!" Starr demanded.

"The fact that there's no way for us to escape," Ajia answered in a chillingly matter-of-fact tone of voice. "Starr, do you realize what'll happen if we're caught?" she asked.

"Yes, but I can change that, you'll see," she insisted. "It doesn't matter what the rest of the team wants, I can make sure they don't kill you. Even the boss will…understand." She didn't sound very sure of herself for once.

"You keep trying to play both sides, but you can't!" I finally yelled. "You can't override the rest of the team forever, and what happens then?"

Starr glared in frustration and said, "No, I had to prove my loyalty, otherwise I'd have been in trouble not only with the boss but also with the other Executives. And if you escaped, I'd be ordered to hunt you down anyway. There's no way out, so I did what had to be done."

"If you had just quit when we asked you to, none of us would be going through this!" I shouted.

"It's not that simple for me!!!" Starr countered, clenching her fists in rage. "I'd think you'd be more grateful for me for being on Team Rocket since you owe your life to it!"

"What is that supposed to mean???!!!" I shouted.

At my saying that, however, Starr lost her temper.

"Do you have any idea how hard I've had to work to keep you alive the past few months?! I knew all along who you were, of course, and I had to keep _every other Rocket_ from figuring that out! I had to erase pictures of you entering the base from the entry cameras and also from places like the Mewtwo room, otherwise they'd match it with your Rocket self. And when you and the experiments split up, I had to make sure I found you before anyone else, otherwise you'd have been shot and killed in a second.

"And that night in the detention cell? I had to convincingly torture you…I swear, some of those times I felt like I'd crack and just go right out and tell you who I was, but that would have put me under suspicion, and then I'd be in trouble with the boss. Then I wouldn't have been able to keep everyone else from killing you the second I was done questioning you. 'Cause you _know_ that they all wanted you dead. And if it weren't for me, you would have been."

I stared blankly at her, unwilling to admit it, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that all of our encounters were no accident. Now I felt guilty that I had thought of her as a threat to my missions, when all along, it turns out my life had been in her hands. I had absolutely nothing to say in response to what she had just said, so I merely looked down at the floor, feeling incredibly sheepish.

Ajia glanced from me, to Starr, and then to me again and then finally said, "You know, Starr, if I remember correctly, back when you were on the Johto Force—"

"Ajia, don't start with me on that, we both know what happened, and I admit it, but there were even things I had to do behind the scenes that you didn't know about. Although not anywhere near the extent I had to go to keep Jade from being killed."

I could hear the Rockets gathering around the hangar, but no one, not even Starr made a move. Ajia seemed to be the only one out of the two of us who hadn't forgotten the mission, because she then said, "Look, Starr, remember what I said? We've both dealt major blows to Team Rocket in the past, and now, especially after this, they'll be after us."

"Especially after _this_?! All you did was run around the base and call in your friend to make fun of us!" Starr countered.

Ajia ignored her and continued, "We're going to Johto, so you being on the Kanto Force won't affect us, but still—you've already proven you haven't been completely changed, so come with us, before they figure out you've helped us in the past."

Starr clenched her fists and hesitated, not looking either of us in the eye. Her Raichu glanced up at her questioningly, as though wondering why his trainer was listening to the enemy. I held my breath, but then Starr looked up at us, her expression cold but slightly lost.

"No…" she said slowly and shakily. "No, I can't and I won't!" The orange mouse at her feet sparked slightly when she said that.

I almost felt like kicking her. We were so close to achieving one of our two goals and she still had to go and be all stubborn. Still…we had planned on her getting forced to side with us, rather than actually being persuaded, but now the stakes were a lot higher since we had only one option.

Starr glared at us and was about to motion to her Raichu, but suddenly and unexpectedly, a voice filled the area—a loud voice broadcast over a speaker.

"Well, well, this certainly is an interesting turn of events, although I must say, I would think the three of you would have known that the Transportation Division not only has security cameras, but a recording system," the voice said. It was a deep, authoritative male voice with a hint of amusement. Starr froze in horror and swore repeatedly under her breath. Ajia grinned; at least one thing had gone right—now Giovanni was involved.

"Two rebels and a double agent, very interesting indeed. But with such a peculiar situation as this, I think I know the perfect solution. All Grunts will take their orders from me now. Tranquilize the two rebels and take them to holding cell 4b."

In less than a second after he had said that, Ajia instructed her Pichu to use Reflect. Without questioning anything, the small, yellow mouse immediately put up an electric bubble around us, blocking the stun rays and darts that flew upon Giovanni's command.

"Rule number one when dealing with Team Rocket," Ajia said, "_never_ let yourself be at the Rockets' mercy…'cause you might not live through it."

I didn't say anything, but I felt rather stupid in that I'd been held captive by Team Rocket twice.

"So, you wish to continue to defy me? Very well—we can settle things right here. All members proceed to the Transportation wing. Leave the rebel and the experiments—they were only a diversion."

The speakers turned off and Starr immediately rounded on us.

"Look what you two have done!!!" she shouted.

"What _we've_ done? This is the time when we all should have been able to escape if you hadn't gone and shoved a pineapple in the middle of our plans," Ajia countered.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded.

"Think about it. They know that you've helped us in the past. Your future with Team Rocket was ruined the second they heard you, even if it weren't for your, um, explosion at what Jade said. You'd have had no choice but to come with us if the rest of the team wasn't surrounding us."

Starr stopped and thought about it for a bit before slowly saying, "You're right." Then realization dawned on her face, and she immediately added, "Wait a minute—this was all a plot! The only reason you even did any of this was to turn the rest of the team against me!"

"Yay, you figured it out," Ajia said, grinning broadly.

Starr looked completely at a loss for words. "You're…you're gonna regret ever trying to get me off of Team Rocket! Raichu, use Thunderbolt!"

Raichu charged briefly before sending a bolt of electricity flying towards us, but right before it hit, Pichu leaped in front and blocked the lightning assault with a Light Screen. Sparks flew everywhere from the energy collision.

"Alright Starr, if you really want a battle, than you'll get one—Pichu, Volt Tackle and Agility!"

Despite having been weakened from the Raichu's earlier Thunderbolt attack, the small, pale yellow mouse surged forward, her fur covered in sparks. The larger Electric Pokémon lunged to the side and prepared for another Thunderbolt, but Pichu saw that coming and darted the other way, now running so fast that I could hardly follow her movements as she ran circles around Raichu.

"Come on Raichu, you're faster and you know it! Now use Quick Attack!" Starr commanded.

The large orange rodent dropped onto all fours and sprang up into the air, catching Pichu by surprise. He landed several feet behind her and dashed in a zigzag pattern, trying to throw off her aim. It would've worked if Pichu had been trying to hit him with a direct attack. But instead, Ajia instructed her to simply crouch down and discharge energy. The nimble electric mouse ducked and sent a web of sparks whizzing along the concrete. Raichu sprung up into the air the second his feet hit the sparks, leaving him in a rather vulnerable position.

"Now!" Ajia exclaimed.

"No, Raichu, use Thunder!!!" Starr shouted.

The two immensely powerful attacks collided and sent strings of lightning flying everywhere. I jumped to the left to avoid being hit by one and watched as Pichu rushed forward and headbutted Raichu as he fell to the ground.

"Pichu's almost out of power…even the electric barriers from before took a lot out of her…" Ajia said to me before instructing Pichu to use Agility.

"Ha, Raichu can just use his own Agility!" Starr countered.

The orange mouse Pokémon sprung to his feet and began to race across the floor at impossible speeds. He was clearly faster than Pichu, and yet Ajia somehow seemed unconcerned. The two Electric Pokémon were neck in neck when Raichu suddenly tried to lunch a Thunder attack. Right at the last second, however, Pichu slowed to a stop and the lightning assault missed its mark. Taking advantage of Raichu's momentary exhaustion from discharging so much energy, Pichu rushed forward and slammed Raichu with her tail, which was now glowing.

"Whoa, was that Iron Tail…?" I muttered under my breath.

"Come on, Raichu, use Mega Kick!" Starr yelled, but by now it was quite clear that despite the immense strength of Raichu's moves, there wasn't much she could do if Ajia or Pichu found a way around them. Raichu lunged onto the air above Pichu and extended a large hind paw, ready to slam her with it, but Pichu simply darted out of the way and launched more sparks at him when he landed. Raichu tried to charge enough power for another Thunder, but seemed to be running out of electricity from using the move so many times.

"You don't need Electric attacks, just use Quick Attack again, Raichu!" Starr shouted.

"Let's end this, Pichu. Use Volt Tackle with an electric speed boost!" Ajia called out.

Pichu fired a burst of energy into her legs and surged forward in a blur of lightning, ramming into Raichu and thoroughly electrocuting him in less than a second. The orange rodent collapsed, but even Pichu was out of breath and sparking uncontrollably.

"Pichu may have won, but now she's out of electricity…" Ajia said, walking forward and picking up the small, pale yellow Pokémon.

"I have a lot more Pokémon than just Raichu," Starr said, recalling her defeated Pokémon. Ajia had just recalled Pichu and released her Espeon when someone began clapping slowly.

"As much fun as it is to watch you two battle, perhaps we should get down to business."

All three of us turned slowly to see Giovanni now standing in the entrance to the Transportation wing. The Rockets nearest him looked relieved, as they obviously weren't sure what to do when Starr and Ajia were battling. Starr, on the other hand, looked completely unsure what to do now that he _was_ here.

"Espeon, Reflect for us and Psychic on Giovanni," Ajia hissed, loud enough for me to hear but still almost inaudible.

The purple fox immediately put up a shimmering indigo force field around us while simultaneously surrounding Giovanni in a blue aura. The Rockets around him looked stunned, unsure of what to do. Giovanni recoiled back in surprise, and then suddenly a purple Poké Ball flew out his pocket. It zoomed toward us, called by Espeon's psychokinesis. I widened my eyes—it had actually worked.

And then suddenly the ball froze in midair.

Both Ajia and I gasped at the same time, and Espeon looked shocked. It tried to move the ball forward, but its psychic abilities didn't seem to work. The Master Ball hovered back toward Giovanni, who grabbed it and replaced it in his pocket. He sneered. "Now really—I suppose you were expecting me to walk right in here where you could easily snatch something of such immense value and use it against me. Admittedly I would have, had I not been alerted to your presence when the forces were called to this division. Upon realizing that my being called here was a trap, I took a simple precaution…" he explained, still grinning malevolently.

Out from the darkness behind him came a tall, humanoid shape. Pointed ears, a catlike face, a long, purple tail—Mewtwo now stood alongside the head of Team Rocket, his eyes radiating with an eerie cobalt aura.

It was over. That was our last resort: stealing Mewtwo's Master Ball and destroying it. And because of Starr's actions, Giovanni had released him prior to his arrival.

"You…you idiot!!!" I yelled, turning suddenly toward her. "Your little stunt with calling back the Rockets ruined everything!!!"

I realized that Starr probably had no idea that any of this would happen, but at that moment, I was too enraged to care. Both she and Giovanni ignored my outburst, however, and the latter simply said, "Starr, get over here."

It took several seconds for her to acknowledge that he had said anything. She slowly approached the leader of Team Rocket, heavily contemplating her words before stammering, "I…this isn't…I would never betray Team Rocket, you know that."

"This isn't a question of your loyalties to Team Rocket, but rather, it's whether or not they exceed your loyalties to its enemies," Giovanni said slowly, his tone indistinguishable.

"I am not a double agent!" Starr almost screamed. "I would never do anything against this team, haven't I shown that?! Just because I don't want them dead doesn't mean I'm on their side!"

Giovanni wasn't particularly paying attention, however, and was now focusing his attention on Ajia and me. "You've certainly done a good job of ruining my head Executive, although I wouldn't expect anything less. I finally have the honors of meeting one of the most well known criminals in Team Rocket history. Your little misadventures with the Johto Force are legendary, and it isn't surprising that you've again taken to luring high-ranking members toward treachery. You certainly left the Kanto Force in tatters last time.

"And you…Jade, is it?" he continued. "I suppose you're more of a constant nuisance than a real threat, but now I see how you've continually managed to escape unscathed from Team Rocket."

"Hey, now wait—I didn't have anything to do with her escape after Operation L:005!" Starr protested.

"Even if you didn't, it's clear that you need to sort out your priorities. But first things first—we can't get anything done if they can still use their Pokémon," Giovanni stated simply. He snapped his fingers and Mewtwo, eyes glowing a mindless blue, pointed a hand at us and clenched it into a fist, as though gripping something in midair.

I raised an eyebrow, nonplussed. Nothing appeared to have happened.

"Confused? Let me explain. Your movements are still under your control, but if you try to run or open a Poké ball…well, let's just say you can't. Now we can get down to business," Giovanni explained.

I turned toward Ajia to see her attempting to reach for a Poké ball, but what Giovanni had said was true—her hand froze just inches from the ball.

"Starr, I cannot allow this matter to go overlooked if I cannot be confident in your loyalties," Giovanni said slowly and menacingly. "I'm giving you one last chance. Here we have two rebels against our cause—a common situation. As usual, you may use a Pokémon."

"What, you mean—but they knocked out Raichu…" she answered, slightly confused.

"No, no, not your favorite Pokémon," Giovanni said tauntingly. "Punishment from your Raichu just isn't…isn't effective enough. No, I was thinking more along the lines of your _first_ Pokémon."

She stared at him hesitantly, but then slowly pulled out a Poké ball, and opened it. I had no idea which of her Pokémon was her first one, but the second it began to materialize, I realized how obvious it was.

The flash of light took the form of an immense monster—tall, upright, and towering over her. The white energy instantaneously became deep azure scales, covering the creature's leathery skin and sprouting crimson spikes along its back. An immense head with massive toothy jaws formed, along with powerful, clawed arms and legs and a thick, muscled tail.

I had never wondered why Starr had so many Fire Pokémon when she used to love Water Pokémon so much. Her Johto starter Pokémon reflected that forgotten liking—it was a Feraligatr.

I didn't know what was going on, but I knew I wouldn't like it. Ajia looked tense, as though she _did_ know what was coming.

"Much better," Giovanni remarked. "Now…"—he leaned back against the wall, as though a spectator at a sports event—"you know what to do."

Starr glanced from him, to Feraligatr, to us, and then back to Giovanni again in disbelief. "Wha—you can't be serious."

"Did I not sound serious?" he asked. "I assumed this was the perfect way to test your loyalty to Team Rocket, as you've given the order many times before, and I should think you'd be able to do it again…whether or not the enemy was an old friend." The last part was said more threateningly.

"Yeah, but,"—she looked around desperately as though trying to find some sort of excuse—"I can't have Feraligatr…why not Raichu?" she asked, apparently forgetting that Raichu had been defeated already.

"Because you don't object to using Raichu, that's why. It wouldn't be a very good test, now would it?" he commented.

Starr opened her mouth to speak, but said nothing and was apparently still struggling with the notion of having the Feraligatr, of having it…

"You know…" Giovanni continued. "It is not a matter of that your actions will decide the fate of your so-called friends. They are wanted criminals against the cause of Team Rocket. No matter what, they will die, but—"

"No, no you can't _do_ that!!!" Starr yelled. "I, I thought you just wanted me to have Feraligatr, like…attack them or something, not…not…"—she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

I clenched my fists and swallowed hard. This could _not_ be happening. It just couldn't be—it had to all be some terrible nightmare or something. It was as if all of my previous encounters with Team Rocket and all of the dangers I'd faced were nothing compared to this. Giovanni's words still echoed in my mind: "No matter what, they die." I stared blankly at the wall, overwhelmed at the immensity…and dreaded certainty of the situation. A quick glance at Ajia showed that she was heavily contemplating something.

"_I_ can't do that? If anyone, it will be you who gives the order, I'll make sure of that," Giovanni said simply in response to Starr's outburst.

"You know you're trying to force me to, don't lie!!!" Starr shouted in fury.

"I have merely given you the option of proving your loyalty," he snapped. "Either tell that beast of yours to kill them or be branded a traitor…and you know what happens then."

She glared at him with rage for several seconds, but then sighed and looked down. Everything was deathly silent as we all waited for her decision…one that would only determine her fate. Finally she mumbled, "I can't…"

"What?" Giovanni demanded.

"I said I can't!!! You had to know I couldn't!" she exclaimed, on the verge of tears.

Giovanni looked taken aback and frustrated at the same time, as though he wasn't sure what to do. Many of the Rockets glanced around, confused as well. Finally, their leader closed his eyes and said, "I will not lose another Rocket leader to rebel ideals. Executives 2 through 5, escort her to holding cell 4b. The rest of you may dispose of the rebels in any manner you see fitting." He turned to leave and motioned to Mewtwo to follow him.

"What?!" Starr yelled as the four Executives below her in command walked forward to lead her away. "No!" She ran towards Ajia and me and stood alongside us, glaring at Giovanni. Indescribable rage was etched onto her face as she said, "I won't let you…"

Giovanni stared at her in disbelief. "You do realize what this mea—"

"I DON'T CARE!!!!!!!!" she shouted, tears now streaming down her cheeks.

"Starr…" I started slowly, but she immediately cut me off.

"Just shut up, Jade," she snapped, refusing to look me in the eye.

"Espeon, Psychic barrier, now!" Ajia yelled suddenly.

While the Psychic fox generated a large glowing barrier of energy around us, Ajia grabbed and opened several Poké Balls, releasing her Aerodactyl, an Umbreon, and a violet-furred cat Pokémon I had never seen before. The three Pokémon stood their ground alongside Espeon, and the furry cat Pokémon created a second shield of its own.

"Are you planning on fighting Mewtwo?" Giovanni asked, laughing slightly.

"Isn't that what it looks like?" Ajia replied simply.

"Ajia, what the hell are you doing?" Starr demanded. "This is insane—do you have any idea how strong that thing is?"

Even I had to admit that this was a pretty pointless last resort, but even the fact that it wasn't over yet had broken the numbing feeling of certain death. Ajia didn't answer Starr's question, but rather said, "You were forced to join Team Rocket, weren't you?"

Starr looked both angry and taken aback. "What are you talking about?!"

"After all this, it's pretty obvious. You tried to figure out what was up with the sudden relocation to Johto, but you got in over your head and found out too much, didn't you? You had no choice but to join at that point," Ajia said matter-of-factly, as though everything had just now come together. Starr stared at the floor, as though unwilling to admit that it was true.

"Wait, what does the move have anything to do with Team Rocket?" I asked, confused.

"Huh? Didn't you know? Starr is Giovanni's daughter…that's one thing I thought everyone knew about the head Executive," Ajia said, surprised.

Although I hadn't known that, it wasn't very shocking, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Finally there was an explanation behind the spontaneous move so long ago…and it also answered why other Executives like Tyson were resentful of her high ranking.

"If you three are done talking…"Giovanni said irritably. "Mewtwo, use Psychic!"

Just those three words made me truly realize the intensity of this battle. The cat-like experiment rose a little off the ground before unleashing a blast of vivid blue energy at the double barrier. Although it was blocked at first, the Psychic attack eventually burst through the two shields. Ajia's Pokémon scattered.

"Aerodactyl, use Supersonic; Umbreon, Faint Attack; Espeon and Kiti, Confusion!" Ajia shouted.

The two small, purple Psychic Pokémon sent waves of energy flying towards Mewtwo, who simply produced a barrier in defense. Aerodactyl shot into the air and let out a horrible screech, attempting to throw off Mewtwo's mental concentration, but the humanoid clone pointed a hand at the ancient reptile and forced its jaws shut psychically. Aerodactyl was enveloped in a blue aura before it was sent crashing into the ground. Mewtwo then sent an immensely powerful blast of Psychic energy flying at the dinosaur Pokémon, knocking it unconscious instantly.

Umbreon lunged forward at Mewtwo, enshrouded in black fog. The experiment attempted to use his psychic powers to grab the ebony fox, yet was somehow unable to. Umbreon disappeared within the Faint Attack.

"As a Dark type, it may be immune to psychic control, but no matter—Mewtwo, Psychic again!" Giovanni commanded.

Mewtwo let his entire body rage with azure flame before unleashing a wave of energy at all of Ajia's remaining Pokémon. Kiti and Espeon both attempted to block it with Psychic barriers, but the attack broke through. I shielded my eyes to block out to bright light, and when I looked again, only Umbreon was left standing.

Ajia recalled the two defeated Pokémon, and though I had seen the whole thing, it really hadn't sunk in until now—there was no way in the world that we could win or escape. Somehow my brain refused to accept that single, inevitable fact. I searched for more possibilities before saying, "Don't you have one more Pokémon, Ajia? And what about you, Starr—you have like five."

"My Lapras would have trouble getting around without freezing the floor, and I doubt Mewtwo would allow that. But still…let me get one thing straight—you're definitely siding with us now, right Starr?"

"It's not like I have much choice at this point. But what does it matter, we'll all be dead soon," Starr muttered, still staring at the floor.

Ajia ignored the last part and simply said, "Alright then, we've officially accomplished our first goal…now for number two—Umbreon, use Night Shade!"

It took me several seconds to realize the sheer bizarreness of what she had just said.

Its eyes shining an eerie red, Umbreon unleashed a black fog from within its body, similar to Faint Attack, only that the fox didn't use it to disappear. Rather, it enveloped the entire transportation hangar in complete shadow.

"What are you doing?" Giovanni demanded. "Mewtwo can locate your Pokémon even within total darkness—this is pointless."

Ajia didn't respond. I couldn't see her; I couldn't see anything other than Umbreon's moon rings and Mewtwo's eyes glowing a sinister blue. I could hear Ajia whispering something, however, and then suddenly there was a bright flash of brilliant white light. It collided with Mewtwo and I could see him go flying backwards into the wall, momentarily stunned. The light then streaked off to the right, where I knew Giovanni was standing. There was a grunt of pain and then out of the darkness, a flash of sparks. Umbreon then released its hold over the concealing Night Shade, and the entire surrounding snapped back into clear view. The bright light had vanished.

"What in the—?!" I exclaimed upon closer surveillance of what had happened.

Giovanni was standing slowly to his feet, looking very cross and taken aback at the same time. At his feet was Mewtwo's Master Ball—broken. Its two halves had snapped apart and were sparking; shattered pieces of blackened computer chips were scattered across the concrete.

"No way…" I muttered in disbelief. "How did this happen?"

Mewtwo's original Poké Ball was now broken. He couldn't be recalled without being recaptured by another one. And the Legendary Control technology was programmed into that ball.

He was free.

That couldn't have been planned—could it?! We'd freed him, but not in any way even close to how I'd thought we'd do it.

Giovanni realized what had happened at the same time. "No! Somebody get me some Master Balls quick! Bring in the Combat Unit, Moltres, Articuno, Assault Rays, anything!" He then rounded on a nearby Executive. "Is the TLD Shield on?"

"No sir, the rebels sabotaged the controls," was the reply. Giovanni swore and ordered an immediate evacuation of the Transportation Division, which seemingly contradicted his earlier demand for reinforcements.

"Did we just defeat Giovanni?" Starr asked, still in shock at how the tables had turned.

I turned back towards Mewtwo and watched as he rose stiffly, weakened from having his powers restrained and even his motions outside his control for so long. Finally he stood tall, powerful, and for the first time since his awakening, free. He spread his long, wiry arms to the side and let his entire body glow with raging blue flame. The few Rockets that remained in the area released a variety of Pokémon, but I knew that their efforts were pointless. With a simple flick of his wrist, the pitiful line of opposition was surrounded by energy and flung into the wall.

Mewtwo let himself hover several feet off the ground, his eyes now blazing with fury. Strings of neon blue lightning surged along a ball of black energy, which he hurled at the nearest transport jet, exploding it on contact. Almost as though he was merely experimenting with his powers, his eyes then traced the line of trucks along the far wall, destroying them with only his gaze. Clouds of black smoke filled the hangar as the ground shook from the many explosions. Finally, as though he sensed that it wasn't safe to remain there for much longer, he used his Psychic powers to force the runway door open.

(I am indebted to you for liberating me…and to you, for keeping your promise,) Mewtwo spoke, his telepathic voice echoing in my mind.

"What promise?" Ajia asked, turning to me. Only then did I remember the promise I had made to Mewtwo so long ago: that either I or one of my teammates would free him someday.

(The last thing I can do for you is to take you out of this place,) he said, extending an arm and letting his hand glow.

"Wait, Mewtwo," Ajia said, recalling her Umbreon and running forward. She whispered something, and he looked both surprised and puzzled at what she had said. She said something else, though, and he nodded and surrounded the three of us in a sapphire aura. I glanced around in surprise, as it felt incredibly odd to just rise into the air. The slightest trace of a smile crossed Mewtwo's face, and with that, he swept his hand forward and we were sent soaring through the runway entrance.

We emerged outside in the middle of the forest, and I had to blink several times to get used to the sunlight. Ajia, Starr, and I were slowly lowered to the ground, and I could feel the psychic control subside.

"What's…what's Mewtwo going to do…?" Starr asked slowly.

"Just watch," Ajia said, and with that, the entire runway was torn to shreds as the catlike Pokémon surged through, encircled in blue flame. He turned back towards the wreckage and observed it for some time before finally glancing toward us. The experiment nodded slightly, and then shot off into the distance.

The feeling of anxiety was only just starting to die down, but it was still difficult for my mind to grasp the fact that we had escaped. We had been stuck in the most impossible trap ever, and yet we were alive. Starr also looked shocked, but it was probably more due to the fact that in less than an hour, her entire life had been turned upside down.

"Hey, hey Jade, how'd it go?!" a voice called out.

I spun around in surprise. "Spencer!" I exclaimed, glad to see that he was okay. The familiar form of his Pidgeot soared just over the treetops before swooping down in front of us.

"So I'm guessing that everything went okay then? That thing that went flying off was Mewtwo, wasn't it?" he asked, jumping off the tan eagle's back. I nodded, and he said, "I wasn't sure what to think when the Rockets stopped chasing me. Did they figure out that you were there and went after you instead?"

My eyes flickered towards Starr as I said, "Yeah, let's just go with that…"

"And…I'm assuming that we shouldn't be concerned with the fact that the head Executive is here," he said, rubbing the back of his head and laughing slightly. We hadn't explained exactly what we needed his diversion for.

"Yeah…we're, uh, old pals," Ajia said rather unconvincingly. Starr glared at Spencer.

"Right, well…" Spencer said awkwardly, "I guess I'll see ya around or something. Oh and Jade, here…" He handed me Chibi, Aros, and Stygian's Poké Balls before mounting his Pokémon once more.

"Later," I said simply, watching as the bird flapped its wings rapidly and ascended into the air, its long red and yellow feathers trailing in the breeze. Spencer waved one last time before instructing his Pidgeot to fly off to the west.

Everything was silent after his departure until finally Ajia spoke up and said, "Well, all in all, I'd say that everything went well."

I couldn't help but stare. "We were almost killed…thanks to _someone_," I said, shooting a glance at Starr.

"I already told you—I had no choice but to call the rest of the team back! I didn't know that any of _that_ would happen!" she countered.

"Maybe not, but I did," Ajia stated simply.

I had been about to reply to Starr, but then I stopped. "Wait…what?"

"Admittedly Starr didn't react the way we had guessed she would, but it doesn't matter because Plan B still worked perfectly," Ajia explained.

I raised an eyebrow. All we really had as far as backup plans were various escape methods that had been ruined the second Starr called for reinforcements. "I didn't know we had a Plan B…was it that light thing? What _was_ that thing anyway?"

She gave me a sheepish grin with a shadow of guilt mixed in. "Sorry Jade, I really am, but I can't tell you that. In fact, I really didn't want to resort to that, but I never would have come up with that plan if I hadn't had a foolproof last resort. It was just way too risky, and I had a feeling all along that I would have to use it, especially when I started the battle with Mewtwo. Still, at least Giovanni's test helped us finish our first goal," she explained.

Starr threw her arms in the air exasperatedly. "I still can't believe that you guys did all of this to turn them against me!"

"So now," Ajia continued, oblivious to Starr's ranting, "there's no way they'll ever take Starr back, Mewtwo is free, and all the damage he did is way out here in the forest. The whole base wasn't destroyed, _and_ if they work quickly, no one will ever notice."

I think at that moment, my confusion reached some sort of record high. "Why on earth is that good thing?"

Ajia paused when I asked that, as though she had been hoping that I wouldn't. With a sigh, she answered. "Alright…you do realize that if the Resistance really waned to, we could destroy a Team Rocket base easily, right?"

"So you _are_ on the Resistance," I said, but then the rest of what she had said sunk in. I had wondered that same thing earlier. Even Stalker had never made us launch a major attack against Team Rocket from within their headquarters, even though it would be easy to do so. Why not?

"This is just insane," Starr spoke up, still frustrated with the entire situation. "Now I'm stuck as a Rocket traitor thanks to you two. Do you know what happens to Rocket traitors?!"

"From what I've seen in the past…nothing," Ajia said, laughing.

"Wait, I still don't get it…why not just pummel Team Rocket from within? Why can't we just end it all now?" I asked.

Ajia gave me a sympathetic look. "It _wouldn't_ end it all—that's the problem. That's why I ran back to Mewtwo—I told him not to completely blow it up. Destroy a base, or do anything _too_ major against them and they'll realize that they're really in trouble, and then they'll put their master plan into motion. We can't let that happen too soon, cause if it does, then it's all over. Isn't that right, Starr?"

Starr looked down, nodding slightly. "That's why I don't want to go against them. You guys don't get it—you can't stop Team Rocket…no one can. Even if you stall for more time while trying to ruin their missions, in the end, you'll never win."

"We can try," Ajia replied simply.

It was as if both of them knew exactly what the other was talking about, but at the same time, were hiding the inner workings of their team from the other. As for me, I had thought that I was in pretty deep into the situation with Team Rocket, but now it was like I was just "there" and really knew nothing whatsoever about any of it.

"So what now?" Starr asked bitterly.

"I don't know…if you're so opposed to opposing Team Rocket, then go to Hoenn…or Sinnoh," Ajia suggested, the tone in her voice sounding very unlike her.

"I am _not_ going to Hoenn _or_ Sinnoh!" Starr yelled, as though the mere notion was ridiculous.

"Well I don't know…don't ask me," Ajia said, shrugging and starting to walk back toward Viridian.

"Where are you going?" Starr questioned.

"The Pokémon Center. I'm going to get my Pokémon healed and then fly out of here on Aerodactyl," Ajia answered. She then smiled, gave a slight wave, and said, "I'll see you, Jade."

I waved back and then proceeded to pull out a Poké ball.

"Well what about you…where are you going?" Starr asked slowly.

"Johto," I replied emotionlessly. "I need to finally get my training license and then after that, I'm gonna meet up with the Inside Resistance." I opened the Poké ball, releasing a flash of light that took Aros's form. The verdant dragon glanced from me to Starr and then to me again, obviously curious as to whether the mission had worked out, but he remained silent. I mounted him and held onto his neck as he vibrated his wings and hovered low above the ground.

I really didn't know what to think now. We had escaped almost certain death, Mewtwo was free…we'd succeeded in everything we'd set out to do, and yet in an odd sort of way, it was as if we had failed. I wasn't sure why, maybe it was just the depressingly overwhelming advantage that Team Rocket held, but either way, I wasn't sorry to be rid of the Kanto Force once and for all.

I turned one last time toward Starr and said, "I think I liked it better when I thought you were my worst enemy," before nudging Aros in the opposite direction. We set off into the endless cerulean skies, a thin stream of smoke still rising behind us.

* * *

Claimer: Kiti is a Fakemon created by a friend of mine, and while I do not own it, I don't want to see it being used by anyone else. 


	19. The Johto Team Rocket Saga

Wow, I actually posted this chapter without waiting for an inordinate amount of time. xP I like the actual content of this chapter...what bugs me is that it's just so random.

I've gone back and updated every chapter to the current Revision. Also, everything's been brought up to the fourth generation. The only thing that really got changed from this is the Midnight Island legend. Oh, and I rewrote the Prologue 'cause the old one sucked. I also added claimers at the end of each chapter for all the stuff that is mine—they're kinda pointless, but whatever…you never know when a n00b might drop by (shrugs).

I'd also like to take this moment to say thanks to my reviewers, which I tend to ignore. Most particularly nightdragon0, for reading everything of mine and always sticking by this fic.

**Chapter 18: The Johto Team Rocket Saga**

_Running…running for so long…_

_I had to find Chibi; I had to get out of here. Everything had gone downhill so fast that I had forgotten why I was even there. The sirens blared constantly as I glanced around frantically. Chibi should have been in this area—where was he? Aros and Stygian were on the other side of the building, and I had no idea how I would ever find them._

_I rounded a corner and sprinted down a deserted corridor, unsure of what to do. I shouldn't have split up with them in the first place—It was all my fault that we were lost. My heart pounded in my chest._

_They were coming—I could sense it. I had to get out of there._

_I turned around and headed back the way I came, now completely panicked. Crimson blood was spattered over the walls—how had that happened? I had just been through there! Pushing the matter from my mind, I struggled to think of any way back to the fifth hallway. I wasn't even sure which division that was, but I knew Aros and Stygian would be there, and Chibi might have found them. The emergency lights continued to flash as I took shortcuts through the various demolished walls and abandoned side rooms. Yes, I was close—I would make it. I leaped through a hole in the last testing room and then suddenly froze._

_It couldn't be… It just couldn't._

_I backed away slowly, my eyes wide with horror. I tried to turn away, but yet it was as if I could look at nothing else. Blood…everywhere…there had been a battle. Chibi, Aros, Stygian…the Rockets had won… It just couldn't have happened. Their blood-soaked forms lay motionless on the ground before me, unmistakably dead._

_And it was all my fault. I had sent them into this area. I had come up with the idea for this mission._

_My fault…they were gone…_

_Gunshots!_

_I spun around at the familiar sound to see the Combat Unit racing down the hallway. I turned back and tried to run, but at the sight of the mangled Pokémon before me, was somehow unable to._

_More shooting… Pandemonium—I had to run!_

_A sudden sharp pain in my back…_

_Falling…_

---

I jerked upward suddenly. How was I still alive—hadn't they shot me?! Where were the Rockets?! Were Chibi, Aros and Stygian really gone?

I blinked in the semidarkness, my heart racing and my mind perplexed. Chibi lay curled up at the foot of the bed. Stygian was on the sofa, her face hidden in her white mane. Aros's preferred spot to sleep had been under the table. And then of course, Swift was perched on the desk chair and Firestorm was sprawled out on the floor, his tail resting on nonflammable cloth.

Right…I was still in the Pokémon Center…so it was just a dream. Even once I realized that, it still took my mind several seconds to accept that none of it had happened and that I most certainly wasn't dead. That happened often; I would dream something and then would be thoroughly convinced that it had actually happened…and sometimes disappointed to realize that it didn't if something good had taken place.

But I kept revisiting the Team Rocket hideout more and more in recent nights. This was actually the second time I had dreamt of my death, and the fourth time that someone I knew had been killed. It wasn't really surprising—the past five months of my life had been completely Team Rocket oriented, but it was still unnerving. How many times had that nightmare come close to actually happening? The most disturbing thing was that it had been them first…and then me—just like it would have gone in reality.

A shiver ran down my spine. I didn't want to think about that; I wouldn't have to think about that…not anymore. Tomorrow I would meet up with Stalker one last time and familiarize myself with the workings of the Inside Resistance, just for the sake of knowing what the Rockets were up against. And then after that I'd be free of Team Rocket—something I'd been looking forward to for some time.

I lay back down, the sudden rush of adrenaline starting to die down. No more running through bases, no more gunshots…

No more chances for the lives of my Pokémon to be put on the line.

No more.

---

"Char? Chaaaaar? Charmelechar? Char, leon'charme char!" a voice yelled incessantly in my ear. Too tired even to understand the Pokéspeech, I tried brushing the source away, a move which resulted in me getting shoved off the bed.

"Ow!" I exclaimed as I crashed into the ground. "Alright, I'm up! What is it?"

"Stalker's on the communicator-thingy," Firestorm said, giving the blue device a sideways glance before shoving it in my face.

I raised an eyebrow. "How'd you know how to work it?"

"I just pushed buttons," he said awkwardly. "Now here."

I grabbed the Communicator from his claws and saw Stalker on the screen with an amused expression. "Had to let your Charmeleon answer it?" he asked, laughing slightly.

"I wasn't up yet," I said sheepishly. "But anyways, I'm in Mahogany already…I'm guessing you called to see how I'd get set up with the Inside Resistance."

"Yeah. The Team Rocket base would be best, but…since you're a major wanted enemy of Team Rocket now, I don't think you'll ever be able to enter a base again."

I nodded, looking down. "You could just bring your laptop or something right? Oh, and by the way, I nabbed a bunch of information from Giovanni's database. I dunno if it'll be useful or not, but…"

"Anything helps," he answered. "Since the two forces are so separate, I only have access to Johto information, and I don't have too many followers on the Kanto Force. Anyway, we should meet up somewhere away from the base…how about the Lake of Rage? It's impossible to miss."

"Yeah, that works," I answered. "What time?"

He shrugged. "I've got some stuff to do. How 'bout seven?"

"Alright, see ya then," I said, hanging up.

With a glance at my watch, I saw that it was almost one. At first I was surprised that I had slept so long, but not when I remembered that I had just lay in bed awake for most of the latter half of the night.

"Six hours…" I muttered, turning on the TV.

"Six hours during which you plan on just watching TV?" Stygian asked incredulously.

"Do you have any better ideas?" I asked, annoyed. No one responded.

We spent the next few hours at the foot of the bed flipping through channels to pass the time. Aros wanted to know how the TV worked, but couldn't make any sense out of my explanation. After several hours, however, the Communicator rang again.

"He's calling back?" I said to myself. "Did he forget to tell me something?" I picked up the Communicator and answered it, extremely surprised to see that Starr was the one who was calling.

"Starr?" I asked. "How'd you get my Communicator number? I never told you it."

"I knew your agent number, but when I called, it was that Spencer guy. He gave me your secondary account number. Really, why'd you have to make two accounts—it's bad enough that the ranks are mucked up with rebels and random do-nothing agents, but how are we supposed to know who's—?"

"In case you didn't notice, that's not really your problem anymore," I answered flatly.

"Oh…right…" she said, looking both embarrassed and like she was having a hard time grasping that fact. "That's what I called about, though. I realized…I never actually thanked you…for everything back there…"

I stared, unsure of what to say. I hadn't been expecting anything of that sort.

"If I hadn't been so caught up with myself and what _I_ wanted, I would've realized that it was for the best…even if—"

"No, don't say that," I interrupted. "It was only for my sake that I put you up to that. I couldn't handle it, and didn't want to worry about anyone knowing who I was. I mean—you did so much to make sure they didn't catch me. I'd be dead otherwise…" I muttered looking down.

"Alright, alright, now that we've apologized enough…" Starr said, rolling her eyes slightly. "We only met up because of Team Rocket. What happens now? It's not like everything can go back to the way it was before."

"I suppose that was the only reason I did it…because I _wanted_ things to go back to the way they were before. I guess it doesn't matter now…but what are you gonna do now that you're not on Team Rocket?

She shrugged and looked away. "Team Rocket was everything. I can't go back to my old life… The only thing I can do is train Pokémon."

Despite how much I had been thinking about the whole situation, I hadn't realized that. My life had been changed by Team Rocket, but not as much as hers. While I could go back to my old life, she couldn't, and with each second I regretted ever knowing that she was a Rocket. "You know…you could always join the Resistance."

Starr laughed when I said that, answering, "Oh come on, you can't be serious. Like I need to be a pawn in someone else's plans. And besides, the Resistance is doomed to failure. They were doomed the second they stopped playing double agent."

I shrugged, feeling awkward seeing as I had every intention of at least siding with it, even if I wouldn't take an active role against the Rockets.

"So what about you? What are you gonna do since your rebel team was destroyed?" Starr asked.

"I'll have to go home eventually. Maybe after that I'll train Pokémon, even though I never planned on that being the focus of my life…" I replied.

"Yeah…" she answered distantly, but then she suddenly said, "wait…you haven't gone home yet? Where on earth _are_ you? Don't tell me you're actually going on a normal journey."

I clenched my teeth. "I'm in Mahogany Town," I said a bit cautiously.

Raising an eyebrow, she responded, "Mahogany Town, there's no reason to go there…other than the Rocket base. You're probably still involved in rebel matters, aren't you?" she muttered, looking cross.

I groaned and replied, "Why do you care? And for the record, I'm just meeting with someone at the Lake of Rage. In fact, I'm supposed to be there now," I added, hoping to end the conversation.

"Meeting with who?" she asked, eyes slightly narrowed.

I threw my hands in the air. "What does it matter?! It's only a friend from The Rebellion. And you already said you don't want to be involved with the Inside Resistance, so it's not your problem." With that, I hung up.

I had just gathered up my Poké Balls and was trying to find the disk with the Team Rocket archive that I had saved, when I noticed that it was unnervingly silent in the room. I glanced around and saw most of my Pokémon staring at me.

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That was the head Executive, wasn't it?" Stygian asked, jumping off the couch and approaching me.

"Stop calling her that," I protested. "I already told you guys what happened while I was in the base. She's not a Rocket anymore." After the big escape, I had to explain exactly what had gone on, since I hadn't brought Firestorm or Swift, and the three experiments had been a distraction along with Spencer.

The white-furred cat snorted slightly and said, "Loyalties change…you can never tell."

I clenched my teeth. "Are you saying you don't trust her, or you don't think I can judge?"

She shrugged and looked away. "Don't make me the focus of it—everyone else thinks so too. All I'm saying is that you should be careful—you can't trust any Rockets."

"You trusted me on the day that I freed you," I pointed out flatly.

"Only because there was nothing you could do to us!" she countered.

I threw my hands in the air and exclaimed, "Oh, come on! Am I the only one here who's not paranoid?!"

"You've seen what she's like. Just because you two knew each other once doesn't change things," Aros commented.

"It already has!" I yelled, now far beyond frustrated. I glanced around at all of the Pokémon, noticing that Chibi was leaned back against the wall, his eyes closed and his expression unrecognizable. "What about you, Chibi? Don't tell me you agree with them."

He opened an eye in an odd sort of glare, and then looked down, saying, "You're all over-thinking it. The simple matter is that the rest of the team has rejected Starr. Her trustworthiness is irrelevant."

I saw Swift nod slightly out of the corner of my eye. Firestorm looked agitated, as though he didn't know what to believe.

"Look. You weren't there. You didn't see what happened, and you can't possibly imagine it. I_ really_ don't feel like talking about it…if you had been there, you would understand. Now c'mon, we need to meet up with Stalker." I then added sarcastically, "Or is _he_ too involved in Team Rocket for your tastes?"

"Rebels don't count," Aros said, rolling his eyes.

I recalled all five of my Pokémon and then departed the Pokémon Center, pulling out Aros's ball once I was outside. A rush of air swept about the mountainous valley, blowing in clouds from the icy range to the northeast. It was mid spring, but that didn't mean much in a place like this. I hoped that we could get everything done before nightfall, as the sun was already at the western horizon.

In a flash of light, Aros emerged from his Poké ball, still irritated over our argument. Wordlessly, the Flygon leaned forward to let me mount before vibrating his wings and taking off. Within seconds, we were soaring high over the small, forested town. It really made me wonder what the Johto Force had seen in the place. Both the main and secondary Kanto headquarters were in large cities, but the secondary Johto base was out here in nowhereville.

The sparse buildings quickly gave way to rolling hills and dense shrubbery, then into campgrounds where the trees had been felled along the massive Lake of Rage. Murky waters stretched across the entire valley, the surface fairly undisturbed since the vacation season hadn't started yet. Aros dove forward to speed low across the water before I motioned for him to land along the northern shore. I recalled him as soon as we landed, not wanting to risk another debate.

Time passed on in silence, save for the blowing of the wind and the call of the birds, and I found myself constantly glancing both at my watch and at the sky, which was now streaked with orange and red. We had actually agreed to meet at seven, but I had left in such a huff after the call from Starr that I hadn't noticed that I had a half hour to spare. It wasn't until dusk that I heard a sound like the flapping of wings. I glanced up at the sky in anticipation, but couldn't find a trace of any of Stalker's Pokémon.

"Jade!" I suddenly heard someone yell.

"What the—?" I said, turning suddenly. That voice was _not_ Stalker's.

Starr had just come out of the trees, looking both frustrated and anxious at the same time.

"Starr, what in the—how'd you get here? What are you _doing_ here???" I exclaimed. Her arrival was so random and unexpected that I wasn't exactly sure how to respond.

"Never mind that," she muttered. "Come on, we've got to go, _now_," she said, grabbing me by the wrist

"Hang on! Are you seriously just trying to get me not to join the Resistance?!" I demanded, breaking her grasp.

"This isn't about that!" she yelled. "That's what I thought you were going to do, not align yourself with the Johto Force!"

"What on earth are you _talking_ about?!" I shouted. "Since when am I—?!"

"That's what the Inside Resistance _is_, you idiot! You're just being trapped, and I should've figured it out sooner!"

"Yeah right, Ajia's on the Resistance too, how do you explain _that_?!" I shot back.

"Exactly, she's on the _Resistance_, she'd never side with _Stalker_ and the—"

"Hey wait, how'd you know he's the leader of The Rebellion?!" I interrupted. "And what does this have to do with him?"

She threw her hands in the air in total frustration. "Jade, you are such an _idiot_ sometimes! He's—"

She was cut off suddenly by a burst of light to the left. I shielded my eyes from the blast and saw as the glow centered on Starr. She cried out in pain and slumped to the ground immediately. Now panicked, I turned around and, through the radiance, saw the silhouette of streamlined creature floating in midair with pointed wings. It disappeared suddenly into the forest at the sound of footsteps, and the light attack vanished as well.

"Hey Jade…" a voice said.

I spun around suddenly and was relieved, yet unsurprised to see Stalker leaning casually against a tree. Still apprehensive, however, I said, "What's going on, what _was_ that thing…was it _yours_?"

"Yeah, he's mine, but he only attacked because I didn't want her to be the one to tell you…to tell any Rebellion member, for that matter," Stalker replied nonchalantly.

Now feeling even more wary, I asked, "Tell me what?"

Rather than answer, however, he glanced at Starr. "So, you're back in Johto now—looks like I managed to stay off Giovanni's bad side more than you after all, Starr…or should I say _Astra_," he added with a slight laugh, glancing at me.

"Don't…don't give me that," Starr snapped in between gasps for breath after suffering at the hands of Stalker's Pokémon. "Jade already found out a while ago."

"I know," Stalker commented simply, "it's pretty obvious she did. And besides, I know about you guys' big showdown with the boss at the Viridian base. Had to go up against Mewtwo? How'd you win?"

"I don't know, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you," Starr spat. "Ajia was the one who did it anyway."

I glanced back and forth from Starr to Stalker. It was obvious that they both knew each other from their days on the Johto Force, but why did Starr seem to have serious issues against him? And did Stalker know Ajia?

"Figures," Stalker muttered. He then turned back toward me. "Still confused, Jade? I told you way back when that I knew everything about Team Rocket. You probably assumed that it was simply because I was on it, and had sources still working from within."

Cautiously, I nodded.

He continued, "Even after all of your encounters with Team Rocket, didn't you realize that a regular Grunt could never have that much access to everything…the codes, the database, the inner workings of the team?"

I raised an eyebrow. So he was an Executive…so what? Stracion was an Executive and she was a double agent.

Almost as if he knew what I was thinking, Stalker said, "I'm not an Executive. I'm a Commander. _The_ Commander—head of the Johto Force and second in command over all of Team Rocket."

That took me a second to comprehend. At first, I figured that Team Rocket was doomed if its Commander was a traitor, but then…then it hit me. The horrible, yet blatantly obvious truth hit me.

Stalker wasn't a Team Rocket traitor.

He was very much for Team Rocket…he was just against the Kanto Force.

"That, that can't…you're not…" I blurted incoherently, "I read in Giovanni's office—the Commander's name is Ralsaren."

"That's me," he confirmed. "Stalker Ralsaren."

It was as if everything I thought I knew was suddenly wrong. I stared at him unbelievingly for a few seconds before being hit by a wave of panic and pulling out a Poké Ball from my pocket, without even knowing whose it was. I clutched it as hard as I could, ready to open in a second if I needed to.

"Going for a battle already, huh?" Stalker asked. "That's not like you—I'd have expected you to avoid a battle at all costs. In any case, I didn't come here to fight you."

"Then what?" I questioned.

"Sheesh, you're acting like we're worst enemies or something. News flash—being on Team Rocket doesn't make you 'evil.' Or have you just forgotten that practically everyone you know is majorly involved in Team Rocket matters?"

"I don't…it doesn't…" I stuttered. "It doesn't fit—why did you make The Rebellion if you were loyal to Team Rocket all that time? Why did you help us hurt Team Rocket? Whose side are you on?!"

"Both," he answered. "You're still blinded by your grudge against Team Rocket, so you don't get it. The team is unstable…I can work its goals to my advantage. All of this—The Rebellion and everything—was to gain followers to my cause. 'Cause soon you'll see…in a little over a year all of this will turn into a much bigger conflict, and by then the sides will be even more unclear—not just the Rockets versus their enemies."

"What are you talking about?" I exclaimed. "Followers to what?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I'd think by now you'd know pretty much everything about the Legendary Project."

"So that's it," I muttered in realization. "You were just trying to keep Giovanni from getting too powerful…that way you could capture all the Legendaries yourself!"

Rolling his eyes, Stalker replied, "And that's about as far from the truth as it's possible to get. Although I won't deny that the Johto Force does own Legendaries…just certain ones, is all…"

"What do you mean, 'certain ones'? What does it matter which ones you ca—?" I froze. "Holy crap…that legend thingy on Midnight…that eight with the revolution and the whatnot…"

"How'd you know about that?!" he demanded.

"I read it at the shrine. That's it, isn't it? You're only trying to protect the eight special ones! Are you one of the Chosen?!" I pressed.

He paused, glowering. "No. A Legendary would have to be crazy to pick me. And anyways…I don't need to be Chosen. Now enough…you weren't supposed to know about that legend…no one was. This is a matter of The Rebellion. And I expect _you_ not to interfere," he added, glancing at Starr.

She looked away and grumbled, "Whatever."

Turning back towards me, Stalker said, "I was hoping that most of the Rebellion members would end up joining my side eventually. And while it's obvious that you're not on Giovanni's side…I guess I'll ask you the same question—whose side are you on?"

I clapped a hand to my forehead and exclaimed, "I don't _care_ whose side I'm on, and I never wanted anything to do with any of this! I thought keeping Legendaries from being captured would be cool, but that's not what you're for, is it?"

"No…" he answered. "But it shouldn't matter anyways—Team Rocket may be using them for conquest, but I'm not."

"What else would a Legendary be used for?!" I shot back. "It may not really be my problem if you're capturing Legendaries, but I'm not joining the Inside Resistance."

Stalker narrowed his eyes. "I knew you'd say that. You see, there are people against the Inside Resistance, mainly ex-Rockets, but none of them know as much about it as former Rebellion members. You say you don't want to get involved…well then you'd do well to just stay out of the fight within Team Rocket, 'cause I don't want you to try to play from the middle of both sides."

"Oh…you mean like what you're doing?" Starr said sarcastically.

"Starr, I don't really think you're one to talk when it comes to playing double agent," Stalker retorted irritably.

"What, so I'm supposed to just listen to this crap that you're telling Jade?" Starr asked with disdain. "I suppose next you'll get into how you think that the goals on which Team Rocket was founded are noble, but only when skewed your way, and a load of other crud. At least I was always loyal to the true intentions of power and glory."

"But now you're not a part of that, are you? You're on the run, so if Team Rocket accomplishes its objectives, then nothing good will come out of it for you. So unlike me, you _have_ to go against them," Stalker said matter-of-factly.

Starr clenched her teeth, knowing that he was right. She coldly responded, "I never exactly wanted to separate myself from those goals…but some things are more important."

"Oh, that's _right_…" Stalker said in a rather amused tone of voice. "You gave it up in order to save Jade and Ajia. Well it was your own fault for being so obvious with your intervention back before the revolt."

"I'd rather be obvious than do what you did. Starting rebellions and teams and then ending them when things get too risky…how many allies did you lose that day? Obviously you wouldn't care about the price of saving yourself," Starr remarked coolly.

Stalker looked outraged and immediately exclaimed, "So now you're blaming me for their deaths?!"

"You ratted on your own team! What do you think I'm blaming you for?!" Starr shouted.

All this time I had kept quiet, listening with to their debate with growing intrigue, but this was too much. "What do you mean by that?" I asked her, occasionally throwing unnerved glances at Stalker.

"I mean that he was the one who gave the Kanto Force the location of the rebel headquarters. Of course, back then no one, not even I knew that he was the rebel leader…and what better way to keep suspicion off himself?"

I gaped in horror. In the beginning I was a little torn, unsure of whether I was more convinced by Stalker or Starr, but after hearing this, all I could do was stare disbelievingly at Stalker. "You actually _wanted_ all of us killed?"

He simply glared at Starr. "As always, blabbing before you know the full truth. For your information, that little reschedule of yours threw everything off. And it's not like I just abandoned everyone."

"Aww, were you actually friends with all your little rebel pawns?" Starr asked tauntingly.

"Shut up, Starr!!!" Stalker shouted, looking flustered. "And anyways—I don't see you showing any regrets about what happened. You were in charge of the mission."

"Great, so now Starr was the one who wanted all of us killed," I said sarcastically, throwing my hands in the air.

"Don't be an idiot, Jade. After what happened in the Viridian base, would you ever think for a second that I wanted you dead?" she asked, annoyed.

"Maybe not me, but everyone else."

Starr paused, unsure of how to respond. A thought rose to my mind from Ajia's argument with Starr: that she and I were the only remaining ties between the way Starr was now, and the way she used to be. Unable to come up with anything, she glanced away, unwilling to look me in the eye.

I wasn't sure what to think anymore. I had no idea who to trust, or rather—which parts of what they had said to trust. Both had switched between friend and enemy, and I felt that I hardly knew them with all the secrets that they held. It seemed like I could trust Starr now, but there was so much that she hadn't told me, and at the same time, so much about The Rebellion that I had kept hidden from her. And as for Stalker, I really didn't know what to think of him—I thought that I had known him, but I was lost as to what his motives and objectives were.

Trying to push everything that I had just learned out of my head, I muttered, "Alright…this isn't the time to debate morals or intentions, or any of that crud. I want answers. Stalker, give me one good reason why I should support the way that you're, uh…fighting Team Rocket? Starr…I don't know…tell me why you're so ticked at him."

"It's hard to explain…this has been going on for a long time," Starr said, glaring at Stalker.

"Well I'd love for someone to clue me in on exactly what happened that no one seems to ever want to tell me…" I grumbled, shooting a glance at Starr.

"I'd say it's about time you knew the…incidents as well," Stalker replied, grinning slyly. Starr rolled her eyes at first, but then looked away, as though she didn't object to him telling me. He paused slightly, and then began.

"If there's one thing Ajia and I have in common, it's that neither of us actually meant to get involved with Team Rocket in the beginning. But while I was never a rebel, Ajia was on the Johto Force the same way that you were on the Kanto one: to stay low-profile and cause mischief. Course, she couldn't help but meet a few Rockets…ones that either regretted joining or wanted to quit before they got in even deeper. Back then, I was a mid-ranking level 3 member, and I figured out about her plans. But in finding that out, I got myself stuck. Even then, I had a couple goals of my own—I was ranked too low to put them into action, but I still spread around rumors about a way to avoid world domination but still gain incredible glory. It seemed like Ajia and I had similar intentions, but she never really trusted me because I figured that the only way to gain control of the team would be to work through the ranks and be a true Rocket, while she wanted to play rebel. We tried staying out of each other's way, but we never could have guessed how things would change.

"I knew the old Kanto Commander before he even rose to that rank. He helped me with my Pokémon training, and I won my way into becoming an Executive through various field missions. Starr was already an Executive, and higher ranking too since she joined Team Rocket before me. Rumors of a revolt spread around and practically everyone on the team was taken in for questioning.

"The Commander played double agent for quite a while, and since he had a real talent for battling, he trained everyone who was part of the growing rebel band. Most of this happened in Johto, but the test of loyalty caught up with everyone when Ajia was eventually discovered in the Celadon base. That was when Giovanni finally realized the threat that he was facing. A large amount of the Kanto Force openly opposed the rest of the team that day—one of the most famous Rockets to do so was none other than the Kanto Commander himself. That was the revolt."

With a slight grin, he added, "You know…even if you hadn't joined The Rebellion, you'd have been connected to all of this. Imagine my surprise when I heard that you were old friends with both Ajia and Starr."

"That's not the whole story," Starr muttered. She turned toward me and said, "There was a lot more to their intervention than just spreading rebel ideals. Because I was an Executive, I had to help deal with the matter, but when I found out that Ajia was behind it all, I tried to do the same thing that I did with you: make sure they never caught her while keeping suspicion off myself, but eventually I found out that Stalker was also involved. I couldn't turn him in, because he also knew that I was old friends with Ajia. Once she and some of the traitors took to wrecking bases and such, he tried battling her, and sometimes he was pretty close to losing before she escaped."

"I was not," Stalker retorted indignantly.

Glancing at me while pointing at him, Starr said, "_He_ didn't like the thought that someone who learned their skills from the same person that he did could be better than him, so he held a grudge and considered both Ajia and the Kanto Commander as rivals of his. I hate to admit it, but I suppose that sort of strengthened his loyalty to the Johto Force at least, because he stopped getting involved with the rebels after that. By the way, he left out the fact that he also became a Commander _before_ the big showdown at the end. He hated the fact that back then, the Kanto Force was better than the Johto one…and it also had the better Commander. But by that point, he wanted the whole Johto Force to back him when he put his own plans into action."

With a laugh, Stalker said, "Oh, so you think you know my intentions, do you? Go ahead, tell me."

Starr clenched her teeth and glanced at me, "I…I don't know, alright."

"Okay, wait, I still don't get it," I said suddenly turning toward Stalker. "Why on earth did you start The Rebellion if you're not against Team Rocket?"

"Weren't you paying attention?" Stalker asked. "I don't want the Legendaries to be used for world domination. I made The Rebellion to make sure that didn't happen. And since you know about the shrine of Midnight Island, then you know that if certain Legendaries are captured, then the legends won't be fulfilled. And for the record—I never actually said that I was trying to take down the entire team. Everything I ever told you guys about what I was working towards—other than what I wrote on those info cards—was completely true. It's funny how what's wrong and what's right can parallel one another."

"Nice story, guys…mind if I interrupt?" a voice said all of a sudden.

* * *

Claimer: I own the Inside Resistance, the revolt, and anything regarding Team Rocket's backstory. 

I also own the Pokéspeech format. As in the language's grammar format and such. I realize that no one could possibly steal it from just that one little quote courtesy of Firestorm, but after putting that much effort into actually giving my Pokéspeech a unique setup, I don't want anyone using it. Pipi _pika_, 'pikachu pichupika pi'pichuka pichupika 'pi. Pipi pi'**pipika** pichupipika 'pi. --;


	20. Legendary Revenge

This is the last reserve chappie—after posting this, I've actually posted all the chapters that I have written already (although chapter 20 will probably be done soon and posted on SPPf sometime this week). Also, I've done a few more updates. Chapter 4 had a little scene added to further explain the way Pokéspeech works and also contribute to Jade's fluency at it in following chapters; and in Chapter 5, I added a little scene that could best be descibed as slight comic releif, although I had a number of other reasons for adding it.

This chapter is like Chapter 18—I would have liked it more if not for the fact that it goes from one scene to the next with very shoddy, unrealistic transition. That, and it has the ongoing problem of characters discussing things while flying at high speed, which really wouldn't work too well.

**Chapter 19: Legendary Revenge**

Everyone spun around suddenly. Sure enough, there at the edge of the treeline stood Ajia with her Pichu sitting atop her shoulder. I felt both relieved and surprised to see her here—now of all times. Starr grinned slyly.

"Ajia…how—?" I started to ask, but then Stalker cut me off.

"This is a new one, Starr. When you figured out that Jade was a few steps away from joining my side of the Resistance, you made sure you'd have backup before coming here. What, afraid to face me alone?"

Starr's smirk immediately changed into a scowl. Ajia walked forward to stand alongside us, her overall expression somehow very unlike her.

"It's been awhile…" Stalker said. "Judging by the fact that Jade didn't know anything about what happened before the revolt, you didn't tell her about the situation with the Resistance, did you?"

"Maybe not, but from the looks of things, you tried to make her think that you were working against Team Rocket," Ajia replied simply.

"Right…and the fact that you hid things from her means nothing…" he said sarcastically.

I glanced back and forth between the two of them, wondering why it was so important to each of them that I _not_ side with the other. The entire concept of the Resistance was beginning to make no sense. I had thought that they both were members of it, but that was obviously not the case.

"Regardless, we're gonna have to make this quick. You'd probably be interested to know what's happening at the Viridian base," Ajia said.

I turned toward her in surprise. What _was_ happening?

Ignoring her last statement, Stalker continued, "I suppose you'd like to explain the Resistance, or should I?"

Ajia sighed, apparently wondering where to begin. "Jade, you already know that the Resistance just started out as a loose group of Rockets dissatisfied with the way Team Rocket was run."

I nodded.

"But after awhile, it got to be a full organization…a team within the team, I guess. That was what caused problems. Most of the members wanted to remain loyal to Team Rocket so that when the time was right, they could use their position to take control of the team. That was Stalker's plan. But the rest of us wanted to oppose the team outright. The Resistance split up right before the revolt."

"And let's not forget the Legendaries," Stalker added, grinning slightly.

"I didn't. You see Jade, the _Inside_ Resistance wants to use Legendaries to accomplish their goals, while the outer Resistance is working toward protecting them," Ajia explained.

I nodded slightly in understanding, but couldn't help wondering more about Stalker's willingness to capture Legends. If someone else were to use them against Team Rocket…

"Only true allies are worth defending…" Stalker replied. "And anyways, you're not exactly one to talk about not using Legendaries."

I glanced from Ajia to Stalker, wondering what he meant. Ajia's face showed a sliver of concern for a moment, but then she looked to be focusing on something else.

Stalker continued, "Right, I don't suppose you told them _that_, either. Jade, Starr…do either of you know exactly how you guys escaped from the Viridian base?"

"Are you saying that you _do_ know?" Starr asked, raising an eyebrow. "You weren't exactly there."

"Jade and Ajia made absolutely sure that the cameras were only on in the Transportation Division," he stated. "I watched the security footage. And in the report on the events, it said that the TLD shield controls were sabotaged."

Ajia didn't seem so much worried as she was surprised that he was putting this together.

"That light that attacked Mewtwo and Giovanni? Obviously a Psychic-type Pokémon teleporting into the base, which was why you needed to take out the defense shield. And it wasn't that big either, but strong enough to stun Mewtwo." He smirked slightly. "There aren't many possibilities. Either you've broken your Legendary beliefs or you're Mew's Chosen."

Everything fell silent all of a sudden. I immediately turned to Ajia to see what her reaction would be, but she didn't have any discernible expression. Starr, on the other hand, looked unimpressed.

"What the hell is up with this whole 'chosen' thing that you and Jade keep talking about?!" Starr demanded. She then turned toward Ajia. "And was that really Mew that broke Mewtwo's Master Ball? Why didn't you tell us?!"

"I already told you guys that I _couldn't_ tell you, remember?" Ajia said exasperatedly. "The Chosen aren't supposed reveal their position to anyone. That's why I had to Night Shade before I could use Mew."

"That still doesn't explain what it is," Starr said flatly.

Before Ajia could answer, however, I found myself explaining it. I wasn't sure why—I hardly even knew what it meant myself.

"It means that she's been picked to side with Mew," I said slowly. "And…I'm guessing that it means she can call Mew whenever she wants…" I turned toward Ajia expectantly, wondering if I was right. She nodded.

"Legendary secrets…" Starr scoffed. "Obviously not so secret anymore." She rolled her eyes. "Can we get back to Team Rocket matters?"

"This is a Team Rocket matter," Stalker muttered. He then grinned and turned toward Ajia. "Up for a Legendary battle? We could finally see who's _really_ stronger." I widened my eyes. So the Pokémon that he used before _was_ a Legendary. Which one? It seemed unlikely that he wouldn't have told his fellow Johto Rockets what it was.

I gasped as I suddenly remembered his message to Giovanni. That was it!

"Always need to battle?" Ajia asked with a false tone of surprise. "There are more important things going on."

"Right, the Viridian base…I suppose for once you'll have to enlighten me," Stalker answered dully.

"I had a feeling this would happen if Mewtwo was freed, and I was right. As both a captured legend and an experiment, he's the link the Legendaries needed. Up till now they've held out, but earlier today I was told that the Legendaries plan to strike back against Team Rocket tonight. That can't happen—everything will have been for nothing. Even your plans," Ajia explained.

Stalker clenched his teeth, trying not to show his alarm. "So I expect you want to save both them and the Kanto Force, is that it now?" he responded coolly.

"Whichever needs it."

"Exploiting Legendary knowledge to mess with fate… I hope you realize it's inevitable." He narrowed his eyes. "And anyways, what makes you think you can leave when you obviously don't have Mew here, whereas I _do_ have my legend?"

I was the one who answered. "We might as well be doing your bidding like always, so you can call off Latios and just let us leave."

Ajia shot a glance at me. Stalker looked amused. "Alright…it isn't much use battling now, anyway. Might as well put it off for the next time the Resistances collide. And to think I hoped you wouldn't join that side."

A Poké Ball was opened, and a flash of light took the familiar form of an orange dragon. He mounted his Charizard and whispered something in its ear. Nodding understandingly, it flapped its immense wings and took off to the south.

Ajia turned to me once he had gone. "I didn't know he had Latios—how'd you find out?"

"Everyone on Team Rocket knows," Starr muttered impatiently.

Almost disdainfully, I replied, "I'm not a Rocket."

Starr shrugged. "Might as well be."

"Come on, we can't stay here, we have to go now—who knows how much time we have left!" Ajia exclaimed, releasing her Aerodactyl.

"Right," I agreed, immediately pulling out Aros's Poké ball.

Starr scoffed and said, "I don't see why it's such a problem. We should just let the stupid Legendaries clobber the Kanto Force. You know, I should go undercover on the Johto Force. At least then I could join the Inside Resistance if things got bad."

"Right, and then when Team Rocket's gone, we can be enemies just like the good ol' days," Ajia said sarcastically, throwing her arms in the air.

"It was just an idea," she muttered disdainfully. "Now who am I riding with?"

"I thought you weren't coming," I countered.

"Well I can't just _stay_ here. I don't have a Flying Pokémon, remember?"

"Oh…alright, you can ride with me and Aros then," I offered. Then I suddenly realized something and exclaimed, "Wait a minute! So Ajia had to fly you here. You knew she was there the whole time."

Starr rolled her eyes. "Duh."

"We decided that I'd hang back and that Starr would deal with trying to convince you not to go with Stalker. But after you guys started talking about the revolt, I just had to tell you about the Resistances," Ajia explained.

I nodded distantly, trying to focus on anything other than the matter at hand. It still felt like my mind was spinning from everything that I had just heard, and I still wasn't entirely sure which parts had been the most convincing.

Nonetheless, I opened Aros's Poké Ball to let the streamlined green dragon materialize alongside Ajia's Aerodactyl. The Flygon took one look at all of us and said, "Well _this_ can't be good." No one responded.

"Come on," I said to Starr, climbing onto Aros's back. She glanced uneasily at him for a few seconds before mounting behind me. I groaned slightly upon remembering my argument with Aros—I still hadn't been able to convince him that she was on our side, and now I wasn't sure after the previous situation.

"Aros, I swear, don't try to pull anything," I whispered into his ear. "We've got to fly to Viridian for an emergency and I don't want you trying to settle some past grudge you seem to have."

He nodded slightly, refusing to look me in the eye before taking off into the air, soon followed by Ajia on her Aerodactyl.

With the rushing of the wind through the night sky as the only sound, the true stakes of the situation finally sank in as we flew over the Johto landscape. The thing that hung in my mind the most, however, was what Stalker had said: "only true allies are worth defending." He didn't mind using Legendaries for his cause… I was still confused and unsure of what to think about the whole thing.

A thought suddenly struck me and I asked Ajia, "How did you become Mew's Chosen?"

She grinned slightly, as if she knew I would ask eventually. "You already know how. All of that past saga with Team Rocket…being a part of the revolt, helping create the Inside Resistance, and breaking off from it. All of the legends are tied around Team Rocket now, and I got in so deep that…I guess Mew felt I was worthy."

"But then…if she told you about the Legendaries' counterattack, then she's not for it?" I added, slightly confused about what was going on.

Ajia sighed. "Not all the Legendaries agree on how to handle this. Only a few have the same view that the Resistance does, and as for the others…they've been waiting for a chance like this since forever. Mewtwo's attack hurt the Rockets. The Legendaries want to deliver the finishing blow. But it's not as simple as that."

She had even told Stalker that we'd be helping whoever needed our help. Was Team Rocket really that close to the final attack that any strike would push them over the edge?

Starr mumbled something that sounded like, "If it were that simple, I wouldn't have stuck with the Kanto Force," but I didn't bother replying.

The two winged Pokémon soared on underneath a veil of clouds concealing the stars. Anxiety hung in the air, and I dreaded what awaited us. I had thought I was done…free of Team Rocket and the Legendaries and everything else. And now we were rushing into what would probably be a situation similar to the Legendary Bird mission, only five times worse. It was easy for Ajia to be determined—she had a slew of powerful Pokémon _and_ Mew for protection.

Smoke filled the air on the horizon, and my fears were confirmed.

The entire northeastern section of Viridian City was in complete and utter chaos, torn apart under the Legendaries' assault. The air was dominated by two enormous creatures—one white and one orange.

The first one was a massive phoenix with brushfire feathers tipped with green at the wingtips. Gray-blue talons sported steely claws, and its tail was like an explosion of shimmering rays of sunlight. It shook the golden plumes atop its head and opened its crooked beak to let loose a searing blast of flames that illuminated the night sky and caused its wings to shine with the colors of the rainbow.

Alongside it flew a fantastically bizarre creature like some mix between a dragon and a bird. Its neck was long and serpentine, ending in a sleek avian head tipped with violet crests over a pair of intense eyes. The creature spread its immense, snowy-white wings and dove down to soar low above the city, stirring fierce gales with merely a swish of its spiked tail.

An unearthly howl echoing in the wind made me turn suddenly to the left, where a flash of blue rushed by on the ground. Fierce gales slashed outward from the beast as it sprinted at impossible speeds, its silky violet mane whipping about.

Suicune… And the two birds were Lugia and Ho-oh.

The Viridian gym had been completely destroyed, allowing us to see directly underground into the Team Rocket base, which hadn't been touched for some reason. Pulsing rays of energy shot up from the forest, and when we flew closer, it was apparent that L.A.R.s had been set up.

We were going to save Team Rocket—this was definitely the weirdest mission ever.

"How come the base isn't ruined yet?" I asked.

"That's the TLD shield," Ajia explained. "It keeps Pokémon from teleporting into the base or wrecking it from the outside. Most of the time it runs on low power only, but when it gets hit by anything, it's like an L.A.R. that only reflects energy. I'm sure the Legendaries could break it if they really tried, but that's not their biggest problem right now…" She trailed off slightly, and I turned to see two more Legendaries enter the scene.

A dazzling phoenix soared up from below the treeline, her wings scattering plumes of fire as she confronted the enraged Legends. Soon afterward, Articuno's cry filled the air, and the cobalt falcon flew upward to join Moltres. They would have lost easily if not for the fact that the Rockets had the L.A.R.s on their side.

But wait—the L.A.R.s couldn't _make_ power, only channel it. How was the offense mode working if they hadn't ever absorbed power in defense mode?

The truth hit me almost immediately. The L.A.R.s under the trees must have been set up in defense. The Rockets had used the power of their own Legendary Pokémon to charge the machines. Now the Legendaries had to face a double threat, and all the trucks filled with supplies and members could escape unnoticed while they were busy fighting.

The Rockets were all set up. The Legendaries would never leave without making some sort of major blow, and how long would it be until Master Balls were brought out?

"How the hell do you expect to do anything about this?!" Starr exclaimed, saying almost exactly what I was thinking. "I mean, if crazed Legendaries aren't enough, Team Rocket's got everything on L.A.R. lockdown, and those things aren't going down easy. By the time the Legendaries get through, they'll have everything evacuated, and then what?"

"Then we have to make sure that none of them get captured right now. If the Rockets have to escape, then that's the price we're gonna have to pay," Ajia explained, looking concerned. "You see all the damage the Legendaries are causing. It'll be like that everywhere if the Rockets launch their final attack now."

Starr looked a little offended by her words and said, "You don't need to tell _me_ that. I'd think I'd understand better than either of you."

Ajia turned suddenly to the left, and I followed her gaze to see a small white figure soaring through the air at high speed. It was the form of a petite feline, its long, thin tail trailing out behind it.

"Mew," I gasped.

The cat-like Pokémon turned towards us slightly, but then suddenly sped off towards the raging Legendaries, as though trying to stay away from us.

"Mew! It's alright for them to see you with me—they already know!" Ajia called out.

At those words, the creature turned back to face us, and then suddenly disappeared from view only to reappear next to us instantly.

(You told them?) Mew questioned, looking panicked.

"Of course not—Stalker told them," Ajia explained. "He watched what happened in the base and put it all together."

Mew sighed deeply, looking very troubled by this news. (They know…I guess it can't be helped now. Latias and I tried to put a stop to this, but nothing is helping. From what you've told me, it seems unwise to destroy the escaping trucks, but there is no way to convince Lugia and Suicune otherwise, and now they've gone and dragged Ho-oh into it as well.)

"Latias is here?" I asked curiously. I didn't know much about the Hoenn Legendaries, and had only caught a quick glimpse of Latios back with Stalker.

(She was the only one that would help,) Mew stated sadly. (Not even Zapdos would…)

A beautiful cry like the chiming of bells resounded in the background, and a creature that oddly resembled a fighter jet zoomed into view. Only when it slowed down over the makeshift battlefield could I identify it as a crimson dragon, with narrow, pointed wings, a snowy white-feathered head and neck, and spiky fins jutting out from the base of its stubby tail.

"Latias…?" I whispered under my breath.

(Latias! Over here!) Mew exclaimed.

The scarlet dragon folded back her forelegs, streaking forward to us instantly.

"The other two humans…?" she asked cautiously, blinking her large, golden eyes.

(Don't worry about them,) Mew replied. (I've got a plan to stop Lugia, Ho-oh, and Suicune.)

Latias sighed. "So it's true…we must save the Rockets? How do you know that giving the humans more time to penetrate it from within will be any better?"

(We both know there's nothing to be gained from all-out war. And what about Raikou? And Entei? And…Latios…? More of us will get added to the list if we strike back.)

Latias nodded solemnly, as though she had been trying to make herself forget that fact.

Mew's statement made me realize how crucial the timing was, though. If we struck too soon, we'd risk a war that we couldn't handle. But what if the Legendaries had struck much earlier, before the Rockets had captured Entei? I was sure that they probably hadn't known the team was a threat back then, but it still seemed ironic.

(If we defeat Moltres and Articuno, the Rockets may retreat, giving us time to stop the other three,) Mew continued.

"If you two are dealing with the Legendaries, then we can take on the scattered Rockets on the ground," Ajia added. "We wouldn't be able to deal major damage, and we could at least keep them from fighting back."

Mew nodded before taking off with Latias.

"We? What's with the we?" Starr demanded all of a sudden.

"Alright, we could let you off before we went to fight them," Ajia suggested.

"And what am I supposed to do, just sit there until you guys are done?" Starr pressed, still annoyed.

"You have Pokémon," I pointed out flatly. "Don't you always ride everywhere on your Arcanine?"

"Yeah, but…" she started, unsure of what to say. It seemed obvious that while Starr wanted nothing to do with the fight against Team Rocket, she still wanted to know how today would work out. Finally she grumbled, "Oh, come on, let's just do this already."

I shot a glance at Ajia, but she just shrugged and motioned to her Aerodactyl to dive downward into the darkness under the trees. Aros followed after her and soon we were racing low along the ground, searching for where the Rockets had set up their resistance. The Assault Rays were positioned near the clearing where the runway exit of the base was. About five of them were set to defense mode, while the others continued to fire offensive rays at the raging Legendaries from the backs of the semi trucks. Every so often, the defensive L.A.R.s would deactivate long enough to allow transportation through, carrying countless Rockets and pieces of equipment.

Both of the flying Pokémon touched down and Starr dismounted, immediately releasing her Arcanine. Ajia pulled out a Poké Ball as well to let out her Pichu, which promptly hopped onto her shoulder. Following her example, I grabbed Chibi's Poké Ball and opened it with a flash of light.

"I thought you were just meeting with Stalker," he said, raising an eyebrow.

I didn't get a chance to respond because at that moment a huge gust of wind nearly swept us off our Pokémon. Suicune sprinted past us, stopping just at the edge of the clearing and tensing up, ready to leap forward at the Rockets.

"Suicune, wait!" I found myself yelling.

The cobalt cheetah quickly spun her head toward me and looked almost ready to attack, but then she stopped in surprise. "You! Human, why are you here—your intervention is unneeded!"

"You'll never be able to attack without attracting too much attention!" I shouted. Ajia looked surprised that Suicune had recognized me.

"If we did not want their attention, we wouldn't be here today!" the beast spat, rushing forward at once. Winds howled as she raced past the Rockets, heading for the L.A.R. on the end. Dodging beams fired from the machines, Suicune blasted out a pulsing torrent of bubbles, striking her target. Just seconds into the attack, however, she was hit by an L.A.R. The beast was sent reeling backward, her body glowing blue from the energy. She leapt to her feet quickly and shook her head, trying to regain herself before being hit a second time.

"Aerodactyl, use Razor Wind!" Ajia commanded, pointing. With a roar, the gray-scaled pterodactyl flapped its wings extremely quickly, sending a rushing gale forward that knocked the Rockets controlling the L.A.R.s off their feet. Seizing the chance, Suicune jumped to her feet and once again fired a Bubblebeam at the furthest Assault Ray.

"Aren't those things too tough to be affected by attacks?" Ajia asked.

"Not in offense mode—they're not invincible," I replied. "Come on, Suicune's got the right idea so long as we keep the Rockets off guard!"

I motioned to Aros and we zoomed forward toward the L.A.R. in the middle while Ajia's Aerodactyl continued its Razor Wind attacks. I heard a sudden explosion and turned to see that the Assault Ray on the end had collapsed from Suicune's Bubblebeam. Aros opened his mouth and breathed out a misty lick of green and blue flames, aimed at the central wires of the machine. Although he had to stop to catch his breath once, eventually the attack took its toll and the weapon began to falter and give off sparks.

I caught a glimpse of a Flamethrower to the side, and turned to see Starr following our example and having her Arcanine attack the adjacent Assault Ray.

"Starr?" I asked, surprised.

"Don't expect my help a second time because I'm not gonna play rebel like you and Ajia," she said.

The sound of another explosion filled the air, but this time it came from above us. I looked upward into the night sky to see a helicopter engulfed in flame and spiraling out of control. Was it one of Team Rocket's? I immediately realized that it couldn't have been—the only vehicles to escape from the runway were all trucks. It had to have been an innocent news chopper trying to film the battle.

It was only then that I spotted the main area where the Rockets that weren't escaping had gathered. On the northwestern edge of the defensive L.A.R. barrier, several supply trucks had been set up, around which the Rockets had gathered. Wondering what they were up to, I had Aros flew swiftly and silently in that direction.

"What about the Assault Rays?" Chibi asked, glancing back behind us.

"Ajia, Starr, and Suicune can handle 'em, and I wanna see what's going on over here," I answered, although at first glance it seemed like the Rockets were just standing around staring upward. I looked in that direction to see the Legendary battle continuing above us, although Moltres and Articuno were definitely looking worn, as they didn't have the L.A.R.s on their side anymore. Occasionally Mew or Latias would darn in between the conflict putting up Psychic shields.

And then suddenly a Master Ball shot through the air in a straight, fast line heading for Mew, who only barely evaded it at the last second.

"Who threw that…?" I muttered to myself. No one could possibly throw a ball that high and fast.

Another Master Ball flew into the air, this time only barely missing Ho-oh's wing. It just came out of nowhere so fast, almost as if it were a bullet.

My eyes widened suddenly. No. No, there was no way; the Rockets couldn't have…could they? And yet the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like such an obvious and easy technology…

All of the Rockets had sleek, metallic devices strapped to an arm. I watched as the man nearest to me pushed a button on his, waited for it to light up, and then pulled back forcefully on a handle. All at once, an explosion of energy shot out a Master Ball.

In the past, the Rockets had always fixed their biggest flaw by the next mission, and it seemed like this was no exception.

"There's no way—at least one of them will be…Aros use Sandstorm!!!"

The verdant dragon's wings buzzed faster than I could see, whipping up the dirt on the ground into a whirlwind of sand that swept up some of the Rockets and kept the others from getting a clear view of the Legendaries. Suddenly, one of the Rockets turned his cannon on us and fired.

"What the—?!" I yelled as Aros was struck in the face with the ball. I struggled to hold on as his flight faltered and he crashed awkwardly into the ground.

"Are you okay?!" I asked frantically while he struggled to stand up. I could see a trickle of blood leaking from his left eye lens.

He mumbled something in response and then quickly put a hand over his eye.

"Sorry," Chibi muttered, still clinging to my shoulder. "It was too sudden, I couldn't block it."

After having probably seen our attempt, Suicune came in from behind us, no doubt trying to destroy the cluster of Rocket supply trucks. Once the Master Balls flew, however, she was forced to retreat or else risk capture.

"There's no point in destroying those trucks, but I bet they're filled with all kinds of gear and weapons, so we should start with trashing that," I said.

"What about the Rockets?" Chibi asked.

"They're all focused on the Legendaries, and you can always use Reflect," I answered. But then my eyes fell on the other end of the L.A.R. barrier—another set of trucks, but without any Rockets near it, most likely because there wasn't a good view of the battle from way over there.

"Hey you guys, I've got a plan: Aros and I will head over there and wreck the supplies. You stay here with Stygian, that way the both of you can get it done quicker, and you'll have her speed in case something goes wrong and you have to get back to where Starr and Ajia are."

Chibi nodded understandingly and jumped down to the ground. I pulled out Stygian's Poké and released the catlike Pokémon, telling Chibi, "Let her know what's going on."

Aros and I took off for the far corner of the clearing, soaring along the edge of the Assault ray barrier before slowing down to hover over the three semi trucks that had been set up. The Flygon swooped low over the first one, touching down on the grass right in front of the back end. The cover was down, and probably locked as well.

"Alright, try a Dragon Claw on the latch," I suggested. Right after I said that, Aros drew back a forearm and slashed along the bottom of the door with flaming claws. He then grabbed the edge and thrust the cover open.

"Perfect," I said, jumping inside. The large space was filled with various crates, most likely unloaded from the storage area of the base. The one nearest me was filled to the brim with Master Ball cannons.

"Jade!" I heard Aros yell, followed by a high-pitched sound like a beam being fired.

I spun around immediately, but he wasn't standing at the opening. "Aros?!" I asked, running to the back of the truck and looking down to see him collapsed on the ground, his body coated in crystals of ice.

"An Ice Beam?" I wondered aloud, knowing that Aros was very vulnerable to ice. "But where from?"

"Hold it right there!" a Rocket yelled, running up from the left and gripping a Poké ball. I groaned under my breath—he must have seen us flying here and decided to follow. I was really tired of having to deal with Rockets at times when I least wanted and last expected.

A blue, long-eared, foxlike creature ran up to stand its ground in front of the Team Rocket member. It leaned forward and pawed the ground as though ready to fight, shaking the sapphire crystals hanging from the sides of its face. I realized that it must have been the Pokémon that attacked Aros. Thinking fast, I jumped out of the truck and recalled Aros only to release Firestorm and Swift right afterwards.

"Hurry Glaceon, stop them!" the Rocket yelled.

"Firestorm, Flamethrower; Swift, Wing Attack!" I instructed.

The Ice-type evolution of Eevee leaped forward at his command, dodging the spurts of flame that Firestorm breathed out. Swift took flight and flew in a tight circle before diving forward, his wings glowing. At the last second, however, Glaceon lunged out of the way, only barely evading the attack. Still trying to land a hit, Firestorm followed the fox's every move, slashing several times, but unable to keep up with his opponent's quick turns.

"Glaceon, Ice Beam!" the Rocket commanded.

The cerulean fox opened its mouth and fired out a shimmering blast of frigid blue energy. Flying in a spiral, Swift managed to dodge the attack before looping down and smacking the Glaceon with his wings. It flew back several feet before regaining itself just in time to avoid another of Firestorm's Flamethrowers.

"Firestorm, try Fire Punch!" I yelled. It seemed like the two of my Pokémon had finally been trained enough to stand a chance in battle.

Growling in frustration from being unable to land a blow, Firestorm blew a fireball onto his claws and lunged forward, ducking out of the way of an Ice Beam and finally striking Glaceon's leg. Crying out in pain, the ice fox kicked the Charmeleon away and sent freezing rays of energy everywhere. This time Swift's wing was caught in the blast. Unable to fly well, the Pidgeotto fell to the ground.

"Hurry, get it while it's down!" the Rocket yelled.

Following its trainer's order, Glaceon charged another Ice Beam in its mouth, but at the last second, Firestorm leaped in the way. Seizing the opportunity, Swift stood to his feet and struggled to flap his wings, but then suddenly his entire body was engulfed in a white light. While Firestorm took the attack, Swift nearly tripled in height and grew long, trailing feathers on his head.

"He's a Pidgeot," I gasped, amazed.

"Glaceon!" the Rocket shouted, "get the Charmeleon out of the way and attack the Pidgeot!"

The fox jumped backward only to rush forward immediately afterward and headbutt the flame reptile in the gut. Before Swift could dodge, Glaceon fired another Ice Beam, _again_ hitting the bird's wing, and this time encasing it in ice crystals. But while it was distracted, Firestorm blasted out a blaze of star-shaped flame, striking his opponent perfectly.

"What in the world is going on here?" someone demanded. I turned to see another, likely higher-ranking Rocket running up behind the first.

"Sir!" the Rocket replied, recalling his Glaceon. "She was trying to sabotage the supply of Master Ball cannons!"

"Then what are you just standing around for?" his superior demanded. "How is a Pokémon battle supposed to settle anything?!" He quickly pulled a gun out from its holster and leveled it at me, and I could almost feel myself immediately go numb.

I heard the bang, I saw what happened, and yet I still wasn't entirely able to make sense of it. Firestorm suddenly leaped forward at the Executive, who turned his gun on the Charmeleon at the last second, hitting him in the leg. The flame reptile managed to bite down as hard as he could onto the man's arm, the ember on his tail blazing with rage. Blood poured from wounds, and claws slashed about in a frenzy. The other Rocket, now completely panicked, fired constantly at the Charmeleon with his stun ray, and yet Firestorm still kept at it.

"Firestorm!" I yelled, horrified at my inability to do anything.

And then his entire body began to glow. His form doubled in height, an immense pair of wings suddenly sprouted; his neck and jaws both elongated. With a huge roar of pain and rage, the Charizard easily overtook the man and threw him to the ground.

"Firestorm, what are you doing?!" I shouted, my eyes wide.

Still hopelessly reaching for the gun with his now useless arm, the Rocket gave one last frantic cry of, "Get this thing off of me!!" before Firestorm breathed out a savage lick of flames.

"Not again…" the dragon muttered, oblivious to the man's shouting. "Not again!!!" He expelled another vicious blast of heat. The other Rocket had run off after his superior was mauled, leaving Firestorm alone next to the man's charred remains

"I—you…you saved my life, but…you didn't have to go to that extreme," I stuttered, still stunned by what I had just seen. I had never thought he would do anything like that.

"First with Zack…then with you on that ship …I was always too weak to do anything about it, but not again!!!" the Charizard shouted with a scary look in his eyes.

I stepped backward slightly and Swift tensed up, ready for anything he might do. Pulling out Firestorm's Poke ball, I slowly said, "Okay, okay, not again…whatever that means. I'll just, y'know, recall you now…"

"No! You can fly on me out of here! Finally I can do it!" he exclaimed with a crazed expression. Ignoring his rants, I recalled him in a beam of red light. I stared at the ball for some time before turning to Swift with a lost expression.

"I didn't realize that you both were ready to evolve," I managed to say.

"He couldn't handle the evolution," the Pidgeot observed. "And it seems like there is much about himself that he hasn't told you."

I was about to ask he what he meant, but then suddenly heard a noise nearby. I recalled Swift and ducked inside the nearest truck, hiding behind a crate of Master Ball cannons. I could hear the sound of an engine revving and something driving away, and guessed that a Rocket had driven off in one of the semis that had been set up. Figuring that I didn't have much time left, I glanced outside the back of the truck. The first thing I noticed was the continuing Legendary battle overhead, with occasional Master Balls flying within the fray. I saw a ball strike one of Articuno's talons, obviously having no effect since the bird had already been captured.

And then it hit me. An idea entered my head, and I almost wished I could drive it out and forget it, but it was too late. You can't catch a Pokémon that's already been captured. What if the side opposing Team Rocket had Legendaries as well?

Ideas and memories came rushing into my head. Ajia had said that the Resistance wanted to protect the Legends, but they'd be doomed if they sat around and did nothing. The Legendaries wanted to strike now and ask questions later. But the Inside Resistance—they _had_ Legendaries. They weren't trying to fight against Team Rocket directly, yet they could easily destroy it. They had the knowledge and the power, but the Resistance…did it really have any advantage? I knew that I wasn't aware of the whole story, but…if it was for sake of defeating Team Rocket, could Legends be captured so that Team Rocket _couldn't_ get them? It would be possible to beat them at their own game and keep them from getting any stronger, and then there wouldn't have to be a war.

I wasn't sure what to think anymore. Ajia had said— But then Stalker had—it made more sense. But would it be doing the same thing as the Rockets? Only the intentions mattered, right?

I had no idea what I was doing—my mind was too jumbled to make the connection that I had grabbed the nearest Master Ball cannon and was now strapping it over my right arm. I pulled the bands tight and leapt out of the truck only to see Team Rocket still trying to escape in the last few supply trucks. Members in the back carried cannons to ward off the attacking Legends, and Moltres and Articuno followed limply. I figured that the few remaining Rockets would probably be coming for the rest of the second set of supply trucks that had been outside the L.A.R. barrier, so I quickly ran off into the trees.

Once I was a good distance away, I glanced up into the sky once more. The Master Ball barrage had died down; the Psychic Legendaries dropped their barriers. What was I doing? I knew Mew and Latias were out, but Lugia…or Ho-oh? Would it work? Would it help?

I could see Ho-oh soaring off, and Mew and Latias darted in another direction. Lugia hovered almost motionlessly overhead—a powerful and majestic Legendary of the sea. To wield that power against Team Rocket…

I pulled back on the handle.

An explosion of energy propelled the Master Ball forward towards its target. I didn't see the collision; all I saw was Lugia's body suddenly transform into blood-red energy as it was inescapably drawn into the ball despite its horrified screeching. In the end, the purple sphere fell to the ground like an iron lead, vibrating furiously.

It was caught. No single fact mattered more than that. Not the escaping Rockets, not the other Legendaries. I had done it? Had I meant to? Shaking slightly, I walked over and gingerly picked up the ball, as if it would lash out at me any second. What was I supposed to do with it now?

"Jade…?" a voice gasped in Pokéspeech

I spun around, unsure of how to respond when I saw Chibi standing just twenty feet from me, his eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Chibi, I…I can explain, at least, I think I ca—I didn't mean to, I—" I stuttered, dumbstruck.

But he just continued to stare at me with a look of complete disbelief. Finally he shook his head and seemed to regain himself. "_What the fuck did you do that for_??!!" he shouted.

"I thought that—I didn't…" I suddenly glanced down at the ball in my hand and held it away from me. Had I really meant to? My mind was so mixed up with thoughts and fears and memories that I hardly knew why I had done it.

Why? What now? What was I supposed to do now? How could I—?

Too confused and regretful to even think, I hurled the Master Ball as far away as I possibly could.

" No, don't!!!" Chibi shouted, absolutely horrorstruck.

The ball hit the ground and burst open, unleashing a surge of light far brighter than any ever released from a Poké ball. The energy immediately regained its form as light became flesh and the legendary dragon-bird materialized in front of me. I recoiled backward and tripped over my own feet—it was too late, but what else could I have done?

Lugia shrieked in surprise and rage, flapping its wings to stay aloft while glancing around rapidly. The avian dragon glimpsed the Rockets in the distance and then whirled around to face me, its eyes blazing with unparalleled fury. I could almost feel my heart stop and my entire body freeze up as I saw it charging a ball of energy in its mouth. I couldn't move—I couldn't breathe—I could only stare in paralyzed terror at the deadly beam of energy rushing toward me.

I flinched right when it was about to hit and waited for the end to come. Only…seconds passed and I still didn't feel anything. Slowly I opened my eyes, stunned to see myself surrounded by a shimmering field of lightning that quickly sputtered and died. I glanced over my shoulder to see Chibi sparking and out of breath. Then I understood—Chibi had been at near full power, and had drained all of his energy into a single Light Screen powerful enough to deflect the Hyper Beam.

"Please don't! " he pleaded with Lugia in between gasps for breath. "She's not on Team Rocket, she's fighting against them! That capture was just stupid and impulsive—she didn't mean to do it, so please…don't!"

The massive snowy-white bird paused slightly, heavily considering Chibi's words. From the expression on its face, however, it seemed as though all Chibi had managed to do was buy me an extra thirty seconds to live. Finally a telepathic voice filled the air—a chillingly bitter and domineering female voice that echoed within my mind.

(The half-Legend speaks on your behalf, human. But it does not matter whether or not you are against the ones who seek to overthrow the Legends. Alliances mean nothing; ambitions run awry no matter the side. It is all the same to me.)

She flicked a single wing feather.

Pain! Nothing but pain! I was lifted into the air psychically and then the attack struck. Indescribable… Unbearable… Every single inch of my body instantly filled with stabbing pain far worse than any electric shock. I clenched my teeth and dug my fingernails into my palms before being unable to keep from crying out in agony. I couldn't hear, I could barely see—God, why wouldn't it stop?! Endless pain everywhere, nothing else but that. Seconds at first, then minutes. I tried to keep track of how long, but my very thoughts were becoming obscured.

Nothing to do…no way to stop it…just kill me now, Lugia!

Everything dark—was I still in Viridian? Too long…couldn't handle…I didn't want to, I hadn't meant to…no way to change it… Flooding pain from nowhere and nothing else.

It had to end. I had to end. No more! Anything but this. Lugia!

Fading… Numbness building, but still nothing.

* * *

Claimer: I own the Master Ball Cannons. Plain and simple…it is _not_ so generic that anyone could think of it—it is my invention and no one can use it. And both Resistances are mine, and the TLD shield is mine. And unlike the MTC program (Chapter 11), I actually know what TLD stands for xD 


	21. The Resistance

Oh hey, I abandoned LC again… :P Blah, and on the last chapter of Part 1, too. I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to post Part 2 as a separate story, or keep it in this one, since on most forums and whatnot, I've continued Part 2 in the same thread. Oh well…

**Chapter 20: The Resistance**

I opened my eyes slowly, unsure of what I would see. It felt as though it had been forever since I had lost awareness. Was this what it was like to be dead? Could I still move? I tried to raise my hands in front of my face, but my arms ached…every inch of me ached.

Wait! If I could still feel my body's pain, then—

I sat up immediately and looked down at myself, trembling. I was alive. I had been so sure that I was dead that it was difficult to believe. Still unsure, I checked my pulse and felt my heart racing.

"I'm not dead," I whispered, feeling an odd combination of relief and residual panic. Lying back down slowly, I breathed out a long sigh of relief, not caring about any pain I was in.

It wasn't until several seconds later that I wondered what I was laying on. I sat up again and glanced around, confused. I wasn't in the forest—actually, I had no idea where I was. It was a large, rather empty room with twin hallways branching out at one end and double doors at the entrance. In a way, it reminded me a lot of the old Midnight Stadium lobby.

I stretched long and hard before getting up off the bench I had been lying on and walking over to the doors. Pushing one of them open, I glanced through and was stunned to see a balcony overlooking an immense mountainous valley, with steep cliffs and jagged rocks leading up to where the building was. It seemed apparent that the only way to get here was by flight.

"Where is this place…?" I muttered to myself.

I turned back toward the other end of the room and walked over to glance down the hallways. Surprisingly, the walls were mostly bare and a little forlorn in some areas, with occasional doorways leading to other areas.

"Jade! You're awake!" I heard Ajia say. I turned to see her exiting one of the rooms in the left hallway.

"'Bout time, really…" Starr added, walking up behind her

"Ajia, Starr!" I exclaimed, glad to see that I wasn't alone in some random abandoned building. "What happened? How'd we get here?"

"When we finished destroying the L.A.R.s, we wondered where you'd gone when we saw the Absol and Pikachu experiments causing a mess over where the Rockets were gathered." Starr explained. "The Pikachu said that you'd flown off on your Flygon, so we went back to where Suicune had been."

"By then the Rockets were escaping with the last of their trucks, but we still didn't know where you were, so your Pikachu went off on his own to try and find you," Ajia continued. "He…came back a few minutes later screaming that you'd been killed by a Legendary. We ran over and saw you lying there, but you were still breathing, so I asked him what had happened."

I was immediately filled with dread when she said that. He had told them—what would they think of me now? Starr probably wouldn't care much, but Ajia was so anti-Legendary catching…

"What did he say?" I asked slowly, trying to hide my anxiety.

"He said that one of the Rockets had captured Lugia, but that you'd gotten to the Master Ball first and opened it. He told us how Lugia mistook you for a Rocket and tried to Hyper Beam you, but he blocked it with Light Screen," Ajia explained grimly. "But…then you got hit with a Psychic…didn't you?"

I was filled with a horrible, sickly feeling—he had lied to them, and in a way that made it seem like Lugia's attack on me had been a mistake…that I was an innocent victim of circumstance. Realizing that I needed to confirm his story, I nodded slowly, trying not to betray the guilt inside me. Almost unable to speak, I barely managed to say, "But Lugia's a Legendary…why didn't her attack kill me?"

Starr shrugged. "Lugia was low on power by then, wasn't it? Maybe the attack wasn't strong enough. Either that, or it misjudged its attack strength."

Ajia looked puzzled by that. "No…I don't think so… The Legendaries would know the extent of their own power." Giving me a sympathetic glance, she added, "There's no way you should have been able to survive that…unless Lugia didn't actually want it to be deadly."

I raised an eyebrow. "You think that Lugia spared me?" My mind suddenly filled with the image of Lugia soaring high in the air, her eyes filled with fiery rage.

Ajia simply replied, "I guess there's no way to tell for sure."

I realized that she was right, and there really was no way to be sure, but it still bothered me.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Starr mumbled all of a sudden, glancing through the doorway that she and Ajia had come through. "They're doing another report?"

"Another report of what?" I asked, stepping forward to glance around the corner.

Rolling her eyes, she replied, "Every freakin' news channel on TV has been talking about the Legendary attack nonstop. It's kind of annoying, really." She reentered the room and Ajia and I followed.

The room was small and unpainted like the rest of the building, with a few chairs and a TV hanging in the corner showing scenes from the Legendary attack the previous day. I was surprised by how close a lot of the footage was—Lugia and Ho-oh blazed in full glory on the screen, as filmed by one of the helicopters that hadn't been shot down. It then switched to show what appeared to be an investigation of the wreckage.

"Yeah, like they're gonna find anything," Starr scoffed. "Honestly—once the Legendaries totaled enough of it, the Executives would've destroyed the rest themselves."

Several of the reporters were now crowding around someone who I soon saw to be Giovanni himself.

"Giovanni's there?" I asked incredulously.

"What'd you expect, his gym was the center of the destruction," Starr answered. "But it's not like they'll figure anything out from him being there."

"Come on," Ajia said, turning and motioning to me. "I doubt they'll show anything we don't know already and I wanna show you the base."

"Base?" I asked, following her. "Where are we, anyways?"

"From what I've heard, it was supposed to be a League headquarters, but it was abandoned before it was even finished. That was around twenty years ago, so now the Resistance uses it as a base," she explained.

"Are there any other members here right now?" I asked curiously.

Ajia shook her head. "Nah, only on certain occasions. It's not very officially run—just a few head members who try to keep track of Team Rocket and some lower members. We keep in touch over our PokéGears."

Smirking, Starr added, "You know—you guys really aren't that much of a threat. Honestly, I'd join the Inside Resistance if it weren't run by Stalker."

"You've already told us that," Ajia said, annoyed.

I raised an eyebrow. "You really don't like him, do you Starr?"

"Yeah, and I expect you two are great pals," she responded dully.

"I didn't know what he was really working toward," I countered. "Actually…I still don't."

"Enough, you guys," Ajia cut in, laughing slightly.

We continued on down the left hallway and rounded a corner where several windows shone light in from the outside. Peering downward, I caught yet another dizzying view of the canyon's bottom.

"Most of the rooms along this hallway were meant to be quarters for the League officials. The last one down here is our control center, though," Ajia said.

She opened a door on the end, revealing an assortment of computers and equipment almost completely lining the walls. Large monitors shone from all over the room.

"Wow, this room is high-tech at least," I commented.

"Yup. A couple of our members were on the Rocket Technology Division, so they fixed it up good. Hey, if you want, I could register you for the Resistance now," Ajia offered.

I bit my lip—I had been hoping to avoid the subject of my joining the Resistance. At this point, I was almost certain that I didn't want to join, but after my previous willingness to side with Stalker, it would almost look as if I were _against_ the Resistance's cause.

I nodded distantly for the sake of having a response and then, attempting to change the subject, blurted out, "How do the computers get any power?"

"Whenever anyone comes here, they have to charge the generator. My Pichu, Starr's Raichu, and your Pikachu have it set to last for a few days," Ajia explained.

Chibi! I couldn't believe that I had actually forgotten about him. "Where are my Pokémon?" I frantically asked. "Did you guys recall them, are they—?"

"They're fine," Ajia replied quickly. "They wanted to stay out of their Poké Balls until you woke up. They're all waiting in the second lounge, down the right hallway. Oh, and…you should probably talk with your Charizard…he kept insisting on being the one to fly you back, and it took us a while to get him back in his Poké Ball for the trip here."

I felt my stomach knot up. Just great—Firestorm still hadn't calmed down. But then…I still wasn't entirely sure what had gotten him so worked up. My mind was so focused on other things that it wasn't until _after_ I had already exited the control center that I realized that I had left without saying anything to Ajia or Starr.

My footsteps echoed off the walls as I headed back toward the main lobby and down the other hallway. After passing the first door, I cautiously glanced through the window of the second one to see all five of my Pokémon inside, sprawled out on the many chairs. Firestorm was sitting in the corner and looked to be asleep, with his head resting against the wall and tail flame a calm flare. I opened the door and waved awkwardly as a sort of greeting before waiting to see the reaction.

"You're okay?" Firestorm asked, immediately standing up.

"Told you all she wasn't gonna die," Stygian mumbled nonchalantly, not looking up from where she was lying down.

"What happened? We heard from Chibi that you'd been attacked by a Legendary, but he wouldn't tell us anything else," Aros said, shooting the Pikachu a nasty look. I noticed, much to my dismay, that Aros still looked worn and kept his left eye shut most of the time.

Chibi turned away slightly, but then said to me, "I gave Ajia and Starr a cover-up story, but I figured that you'd wanna tell everyone else." Actually, I had to admit that he was right—that was what I would have done, although I wasn't looking forward to explaining it to anyone. One thing was for sure—I definitely was glad Ajia wouldn't have to find out…not with her being both Chosen and very against the capturing of Legendaries.

I realized that all of my Pokémon were looking at me expectantly, and knew that I would have to begin. After taking a seat, I started with what had really happened when I had gone to meet Stalker. I told them how Starr had shown up and how the two of them had told me about the original Team Rocket revolt. But when I got to the part with Ajia, I couldn't help but emphasize what Stalker had said concerning the Legendaries. I quickly breezed over the background of the Legendary attack, since most of them had the gist of it already anyways. But then…upon coming to the end… I felt almost numb as I recounted what had happened with Lugia, and somehow didn't even care to justify any of it.

Stygian's expression was like a mix between intrigue and suspicion, a stark contrast to Firestorm's confusion. Aros was both surprised and slightly puzzled. Oddly enough, Swift looked disturbed, but mostly from the revelation concerning how Legendary catching would affect everything. He kept furrowing his brow and mumbling things like, "If it were possible without that…"

After a while Aros spoke up, shaking his head, "Everything that's gone on…all the sides and plans that everyone has…how the hell are you supposed to make any sense out of it?"

I laughed slightly, feeling as though he had hit the subject dead on. "You're not. I honestly don't think I'll ever really know why everyone has chosen the side they're on."

"So don't think about it," Stygian replied. "Follow your instincts. You care too much about what motivates everyone. Ignore everything else, and go only with what you think is right, given the situation. Stop thinking like a human."

I raised an eyebrow. Stop thinking like a human? How was I supposed to think?

"I—I'll keep that in mind, Stygian," I answered, still not entirely convinced. "Now come on, I gotta get back to Ajia and Starr."

I couldn't help noticing, however, that Firestorm kept glancing over at Swift with a pained look on his face. The Pidgeot nodded solemnly each time, looking at him expectantly as though waiting for him to say something. Suddenly, the Charizard burst out, "I'm so sorry Jade, I didn't mean to! I should have told you, but I didn't know what you would think—I…thought you'd think I was a failure!"

Taken aback slightly by the random outburst, I could only reply, "What are you talking about?"

"Back on Midnight! You asked me—and I lied, and I never told you what happened! I never told anyone…" Firestorm continued, looking very distraught.

At first I had thought he meant something to do with what had happened after his battle, but now I was completely lost. Unsure of what to say, I asked, "Could you…explain…?"

He didn't give any sign that he had heard what I said. It was really strange seeing a Charizard looking so feeble—sitting in the corner and staring at the floor with his wings drooping. After a long pause, however, he finally managed, "You're not my first trainer…"

"I know that…you told me way back when that you were a League-raised Starter," I said, confused as to why he was telling me this.

"Yeah, but…I never told you why I had to leave my trainer."

"Er, didn't you?" I asked, struggling to remember the details of his original story. "I thought you got taken from him, or something, and then escaped."

The Charizard clenched his teeth and muttered, "That's not what happened. We—Zack and I—came to the first city on the path. We couldn't find the Pokémon Center, and I…I guess we wandered into an area you're not supposed to go through… These older guys showed up and…their Pokémon attacked me. I didn't stand a chance…it was pathetic…"

Up to that point, his story seemed to match what he had told me before. And just like last time, he paused heavily at that part, but his overall expression this time was radically different.

"I wasn't strong enough…" he almost whispered, his voice quivering. "_I_ was supposed to protect my trainer. _I_ failed. And it would have been me if he hadn't tried to save me…"

Even though he avoided saying exactly what had happened, I realized the one crucial difference in what he had told me.

Trying not to sound too blunt, I slowly asked, "Zack…he's dead, isn't he?"

Firestorm nodded slowly.

"Were the two of you very close?"

Much to my surprise, the dragon let out a low, raspy laugh. "No…he was only my trainer for a few days. But why should that matter? I didn't serve my trainer well, I didn't protect him, I didn't do anything. I never have—even with you."

I was confused as to why he would say anything like that. "I don't get it—how have you failed me?" I regretted the question almost immediately.

Standing to his feet, the Charizard exclaimed, "With the Rockets on the ship, I couldn't do anything! Even when he pulled out the gun, I just stood there. I thought that being a Charmeleon would help, but I was still useless in battle. How many times were we in danger and I couldn't help? Every time the Rockets cornered us, I'd relive what happened on that day—only I'd see _you_ lying there dead."

His words penetrated me, but what really got me thinking was what Swift had said previously about him evolving. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Firestorm _had_ been greatly affected by evolving into Charmeleon, though it hadn't seemed like it at the time. And all those months training with Stalker's Charizard probably made things worse.

"You were able to save me back there in the forest, though," I pointed out, hoping to cheer him up.

"Yeah…that time I did it."

I had to admit, I found the response a little unnerving. What he had done after the battle…he considered that his only success? Even worse perhaps was the fact that he had thoroughly convinced himself that to do anything less than risk his life for me made him a failure as a Pokémon. All five of my Pokémon had done so much for me…

"You guys?" I started, hoping to finally resolve something I had been wondering for some time. "Do you think I've been a good trainer?"

My question was followed by a long silence, in which my Pokémon gave me odd looks.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Stygian asked, looking positively bored. "Your battling doesn't suck ass as much anymore, if that's what you mean…"

"No, not that…" I muttered. "Firestorm kept talking about what it means to be a good Pokémon. Well you guys have risked your lives for me so often, and what have I ever done in return?"

Stygian rolled her eyes and said, "I wasn't aware that I was supposed to obsess over getting something out of helping you."

With a groan, Aros added, "What she means is…there isn't any reason for us not to." I couldn't believe that he was the one saying that—the same Flygon that had once refused to even let me ride him.

Some time afterward, Chibi stood to his feet, glanced at Aros and Stygian, and then said, "Jade…I really think that should be the least of your concerns. You remember the day we met, right?"

I nodded slowly, knowing that the day would be burned into my memory forever. His crazed desperation on the plane…

Chibi stared downward. "That wasn't the first time I tried to kill myself. There were other times…like after Razors was taken…"

I saw Aros suddenly open his mouth as though something had occurred to him, but he didn't know how to say it. Stygian also looked interested, which I found surprising. Finally Aros said, "So then…that was what you meant when you said you would avenge him…both of you…?"

Chibi nodded solemnly. "I didn't follow what you said in the containment cell… I should have—Razors never gave up…he wouldn't have wanted it…"

I realized that they must have been talking about something that occurred long before I met any of the experiments. Stygian scoffed and said, "Better to go that way… But then, considering the end result, not always." The Absol nodded in my direction.

"That's what I meant. I would have given anything to be free. You know…even just sitting around talking like this. I guess you don't think about it much when you can do it anytime."

"Was being with the Rockets really that bad?" I asked

Aros shot a glance at Chibi before answering, "Looking back, not really… The training was tough, punishments were pretty harsh, and there was nothing else we could do, so most of us lived for the missions. But there was always food, and nothing to worry about...other than the constant threat of The Room. I guess the hybrids had it worse, though."

Apparently, Stygian was again losing interest in the conversation. "He didn't have to get all emo about it just because Razors was the experiment created before him. I mean really…it wouldn't have mattered to me."

I don't think she quite realized what that implied. Several seconds later, however, she widened her eyes suddenly and turned towards Aros quickly, saying, "I—that is…I didn't mean…"

"Forget it," the emerald dragon replied, looking away. He was the experiment created before her.

Hoping to end the discussion, I pulled my Poké balls out of my pocket and announced, "Alright, come on. We should get outta here." When none of them protested, I recalled all of my Pokémon. I stared down at the five Poké balls in my hand, reflecting on everything for some time.

_Follow your instincts… Ignore everything else, and go only with what you think is right, given the situation._

Ignore everything else…and everyone else? Go with what's right…but was I simply going with what was easy?

I shook my head to clear away all my thoughts. I had made up my mind a long time ago, and that was that. Walking back to the control center, I tried to make myself more confident in the decision.

"Hey Jade…did you get everything settled with your Pokémon and all?" Ajia asked once I had returned.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Alright, I've got everything setup here. Want me to register you now?"

"I don't really wanna join the Resistance."

Despite all my dread, the reaction to that statement was not particularly significant. Starr raised an eyebrow, noticeably intrigued, while Ajia looked puzzled.

"You don't want to? Why not? I mean…you don't have to or anything, but I figured you would since you've been so involved in the fight against Team Rocket," she said.

"Actually, that's kind of the reason why I _don't_ want to," I replied, almost surprised by the lack of emotion in my voice. No matter how hard I tried to ignore it, I was filled with the thought that Ajia had likely gone through the same things I had.

"Oh, well…that's okay…" she said. "Are you gonna train Pokémon normally, then?"

I shrugged. "I'd need to get my license first, in any case."

Starr snickered. Ajia looked surprised and asked, "You don't have your license yet?"

"No, not exactly…" I said, chuckling despite my embarrassment.

"Alright then…well, once you do, we should keep in touch more. We shouldn't only have to meet up when there's some Team Rocket situation on hand," Ajia said, smiling.

"Sure thing—I'll see you guys later," I said, waving before I left.

I forced a smile as I walked down the hallway, trying to cheer myself up. Everything was settled between Ajia, Starr, and me. They didn't care that I wasn't joining the Resistance; everything should have been fine, and yet I still felt guilty inside. Ajia hadn't backed down after the original revolt. What possible excuses could I come up with for abandoning the fight against Team Rocket?

I clenched my teeth, my footsteps slowing. The night on the S.S. Anne…getting shot off Aros…the deadly chases though the maze of hallways…the interrogation…the ambush… But could all of that really justify anything, or was I just being a coward?

"I want out!" I yelled to no one, slamming a fist against the wall.

"Do you really?"

I spun around suddenly, not having expected to see Starr walking up behind me. It wasn't until several seconds later that I questioned the cool, taunting expression in her voice.

"What are you talking about?" I muttered.

"Double agent to the end," she answered, smirking. "You plan on joining the _Inside_ Resistance, don't you?"

I raised an eyebrow. "No I'm not. Why would I?" I tried to sound innocently surprised, but my reply came off hollow-sounding. Why did she still think I was going to side with Stalker? I wasn't going to…was I?

With a laugh, Starr said, "On come on, there's no way you'd ever stop playing rebel. And Stalker's got you warped into seeing his side just like everyone else he's manipulated into joining him."

"I don't want to choose sides," I shot back immediately. "Maybe you still want to be involved, but…" I froze as my mind again filled with the memory of my capture of Lugia. The whole incident was a blur, but…that whole time I had thought only of what Ajia and Stalker had said about the matter.

"Well why does it matter to you, you don't even care about the Legendaries," I finished, hoping to somehow justify my semi-support of Stalker's ideals.

"What the hell do the Legendaries have to do with this?" she asked.

My face fell and I looked away immediately. I hadn't realized that she didn't know about my uncertainty concerning the use of Legendaries.

Hoping to resolve the argument, I said, "The only reason you still want to be on Team Rocket is because you're so convinced that they're going to win." It was a bit of a random subject change, but I didn't like the way the conversation was going. "You'd switch sides otherwise, wouldn't you?"

"So would you," Starr said coolly. But then she widened her eyes and added, "So then you don't think the Resistance has a chance either?"

I bristled, unsure of how to react. It took a few seconds, but I finally said, "I'm not going to assume anything. Ajia knows what she's doing, and I'll stick with that. She has Mew on her side, anyway."

"Right, I forgot that little detail…" Starr commented dully. "And that's the only reason she's against Stalker? Legendaries? Honestly…they're all just being hypocrites."

I didn't ask what she meant by that, but rather started walking toward the lobby again. I really didn't feel like debating with her any longer, and was tired of being proven wrong on so many things.

"So I suppose that's it, then?" Starr called after me. "The three of us were only on the same side for a week and now things are back to the way they were?"

I stopped walking. At first it seemed like she was right—we had come to a sort of resolution and were already feeling bitter and suspicious again. I almost didn't want to respond, but had to say something, anything, to deny what she had said.

"Neither of us is on a side. This stupid Team Rocket mess isn't everything, you know…" I rounded a corner and didn't look back.

"You don't seriously think that you can just ignore it all, do you?" she asked, running after me.

"Watch me," I said, nearing the entrance doors and releasing Swift from his Poké ball.

Starr sighed. "Alright, fine then. You don't want to be involved; I can't be involved the way I'd like to. Want to call it even?"

With a relieved half-grin I replied, "That'll work."

I was about to walk through the doors when I heard Ajia calling after me, "Hey Jade!" I turned suddenly to see her round the corner and walk towards us.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Before you leave, I wanted to apologize. You've seemed tense ever since we got back, and I shouldn't have just decided for you that you were gonna join in the conflict."

"Don't worry about it," I replied, holding up a hand. "It's not your fault, and even if you hadn't taken it as a fact that I would join that, well…mission, I've always been too rash with things like that, and in that situation, backing down wasn't an option."

"Either way, I didn't mean to make you feel like you had to join the Resistance," she added.

I grinned. "For starters, I'm calling it the outer Resistance from now on—honestly, the whole name similarity was the reason I got so mixed up in the first place. And secondly, it's thanks to you and Starr that I didn't join the Inside Resistance."

Starr shot a glance at me when I said that, and that reminded me of our previous conversation, which made me again wonder how I regarded the team.

Pushing open the double door entrance, I once again looked out over the vast expanse of mountains. "Come on Swift," I said, motioning to him.

"You're not flying on Aros?" he asked, surprised.

I shook my head. "He's still hurt from yesterday, and Firestorm doesn't know how to fly yet." Still, when I looked at Swift again, I realized that he was a lot smaller than Spencer's Pidgeot, seeing as he had only just evolved. "Do you think you'll be able to carry me?"

He looked uncertain for a few seconds, but then nodded.

I climbed awkwardly onto his back, gripping his shoulders and kneeling behind the wing joint. Swift outstretched his broad wings, which had to be at least three times as long as they had been when he was a Pidgeotto. I gave one last wave to Ajia and Starr before Swift announced, "Um, you'd better hold on tight."

"Why?" I asked.

"With so little room to take off, I'll have to dive."

"Dive…?" Just saying it seemed to make my insides melt.

I hardly even had time to react; Swift gave a flap of his wings to jump up the balcony' edge. One second we were there, the next we had plunged over the side. The Pidgeot tucked in his wings and shot downward like a rocket, and I clutched his feathers for dear life as the air rushed past us. Faster—faster—impossible speeds! The ground rushing up toward us!

"Ohhhh crap!" I yelled, screwing my eyes shut from the insane rush. I could feel Swift's wings angling outward but wasn't ready for his pull out of the dive, which left me feeling flattened against him from the change in direction. With more than enough speed, the Pidgeot shot outward, now parallel to the ground and used the momentum to soar upward until we could ride the wind.

My breath was shallow and my arms shook as I managed, "Don't…don't ever do that that again." Almost immediately afterward, however, the shock wore off, and I couldn't help but laugh in exhilaration. "Well, maybe again someday."

"I've always wanted to do that as a Pidgeot," Swift said, but despite his reserved tone, I could tell that he was beaming inside.

* * *

End Part 1. And onward to Part 2, which skips to a year later.


End file.
